


each a perfect porcelain doll

by panaili



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Diplomatic Banquets, Gen, Gender Issues, Kidnapping, Panic Attacks, Pidge POV, Pidge | Katie Holt-centric, Princess!Pidge, Shiro POV, Terrorism, Violence, gratuitous disney references
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-17
Updated: 2017-10-17
Packaged: 2018-12-30 17:56:57
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 42,634
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12114117
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/panaili/pseuds/panaili
Summary: A new mission presents Team Voltron with the opportunity to get important information about Galra movements. Unfortunately, in order to successfully pull it off, Allura needs to be in two places at once: both shape-shifting to sneak into an alien server room and acting diplomatically as the Princess of Altea.Luckily, even though she is only one able to pull off the shape-shifting infiltration, disguising one of the paladins as the Altean princess should be much easier.[Set Season 2 at some point maybe]





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> _“wait, is this just a shameless excuse to write a Princess!Pidge fic??”_ yes, 100% accurate, that is exactly what this fic is, hop on board y’all, we’re going for a ride :D

 

 

 

 

 

 

Shiro had spent the greater part of his life preparing to be a pilot. His specific ambitions had varied over the years, as he changed his focus from transports to fighters and finally to spaceships, but the dream remained rooted in his heart from the moment he’d first looked at his toy airplanes and thought, _I could do that_. His dream had sent him to nearly every type of training imaginable, all with the express desire to prepare him for any eventuality that he might face in the vast universe. 

For all his training, however, Shiro had never imagined anything quite like his life with Team Voltron. 

“Princess!” Coran cheered, bursting into the break room with a bang. Lance dropped his cup of alien tea-coffee concoction with a mournful cry. “The Valpri have agreed to a _metzri-pat_!”

“That’s astounding!” Allura said, looking up from her breakfast with bright eyes. “Even with Xra Klentin’s amendments?” 

“They’ve apparently negotiated a workaround.” 

Taking a long sip of his own alien coffee, Shiro exchanged a glance with Hunk, who had brought a new cup to a grateful Lance and seemed just as mystified as the rest of them. Even Pidge looked lost, though Shiro couldn’t tell if that was due to ignorance or simply a byproduct of her morning sleepiness. 

“Well, this is exciting,” Allura said, brow furrowing in interest. “But I doubt it’s going to solve the dilemma we faced with the _Keplrit-xia_ ruling in the first place. Perhaps we could use Voltron’s capabilities, but that would restrict the information we could get in the time limit. Maybe if we—” 

“Um, Princess?” Shiro interrupted after taking in the increasingly confused expressions of his fellow paladins. “Sorry to cut in, but we have no idea what you two are talking about. Who are the Valpri?” 

“And what’s up with all the weird words?” Lance added. “Is the translation software on the fritz again? Because that was a frustrating week I definitely don’t want to revisit.” 

“Agreed,” Keith murmured, exchanging a long-suffering glance with Hunk. 

“It should be working fine,” Coran responded. “Though I suppose that depends on what you heard. And what sort of software malfunction it could be. Was I speaking with guttural clicks again? Because I believe Pidge and I patched that particular error last week, but mistakes happen.” 

“My code was perfect, don’t bring me into this,” Pidge muttered into her bowl of food goo. 

“It was that first thing,” Hunk said, ignoring the side conversation and looking to Allura for an explanation. “What did they agree to? A metripa? Or something?” 

“And why do we care?” Keith added. 

“My apologies,” Allura said, setting her spoon down and turning to face the whole table with an air of authority. “I forgot that we don’t always broadcast some of our diplomatic efforts. The Valpri are a race of mammalian aliens from sector 13 of the Muglan Galaxy. We’ve been in contact with them for a while now, as they are one of the few resource-rich planets that remain free of Galra domination.” 

“More allies?” Shiro guessed. 

“Not exactly,” Allura replied. “The main reason the Valpri are still free is because they maintain a strict policy of neutrality. They exchange information and trade goods with the Galra, so from what I can tell, their continued freedom is merely due to it being more beneficial to the Galra to leave them alone for now. Additionally, they have very intense security protocols. They almost never extend an invitation to make an official visit to capitol, even among other rulers. That’s what a _metzri-pat_ is, though it’s specific to the Valpri, so our translation software probably couldn’t find an equivalent term in your language. Coran has been negotiating with them for half a year to allow for us to send a delegation.” 

“Isn’t that risky?” Lance asked, making a face. “I mean, if these guys are actively trading information with the Galra, I don’t exactly want to go hang out.” 

“Yeah, do we really want them as allies?” murmured Keith.

“It’s not about gaining allies,” Allura replied, a sly grin on her face. “Well – not entirely. It would be lovely if we could get them to officially side with the Voltron Alliance, but I doubt it’s likely. The important thing about a _metzri-pat_ is that it gives us access to their planet – and most significantly, their information.” 

“The Valpri trade with the Galra, you see,” elaborated Coran. “They have up-to-date information on trading posts, military bases, leadership charts, you name it. They’re neutral, so they’ve refused to provide that information outright, and given their security protocols, it’s near impossible to get anything without being on planet.” 

“Why not?” Hunk asked. “Pidge has remotely hacked Galra warships before with Altean technology. Are the Valpri that much more advanced?” 

“It’s not about the level of technology,” Coran explained. “Their security protocols don’t allow for long-term storage on connected servers. Possibly because of that exact issue.” 

“Oh, so that’s why you had me hack into that database last week,” Pidge said. Shiro raised an eyebrow at her, and she added, “They really don’t have anything on their connected servers. Just generic space travel notices and software certifications and stuff. Nothing useful.”

“They almost exclusively use a closed server for actual information dissemination, and there is no connection to any shared information streams,” Allura said. “Coran visited exactly once before this – they gave him special dispensation to pick up some cargo – and outsiders weren’t allowed anywhere past the main port, with no access to their internal server. The entire planet is locked down.”

“Except now they’ve invited us to the capitol,” Shiro said. “So, you’re trying to use this opportunity to find a way into their private servers.”

“Exactly,” Allura confirmed. 

“Doesn’t really seem all that honorable,” he added, keeping his tone mild. Allura’s eyes narrowed slightly and Shiro shrugged. “I’m not saying we shouldn’t do it. But it would probably be good to acknowledge that we’re going into this with the intent to betray their trust.” 

“The Valpri have had enough time to decide where they stand in this war,” Allura replied, her resolve evident by the tight way she held her shoulders. “Every time they choose to value profit over freedom, people suffer. If I thought we could gain an ally, I would do everything I could to build trust between us, but I have little faith in that option. If they want to continue to ignore the Galra threat in order to benefit their people, then I can be selfish too.” 

She met Shiro’s gaze with steady determination, reminding Shiro yet again just how much Allura had lost in the war. He could tell from the uncomfortable silence that the other paladins were also having different reactions to the plan, from Hunk’s obvious discomfort to Keith’s cool disinterest. But Shiro maintained his eye contact with Allura, waiting to see if she would betray any doubts.

Allura didn’t look away, radiating determination and authority with every breath. 

After a few moments, Shiro sat back, breaking the silent challenge. “Fair enough.” 

Allura didn’t quite smile at the reaction, but the ice in her eyes thawed at Shiro’s acquiescence. Her shoulders lost a bit of their tension. 

“The leader of the Valpri is Xra Kesmit,” Coran said, as though the dip in conversation had not occurred. “He’s relatively new to power, having taken over from his mother about five years ago. According to their envoy, he’s mostly interested in meeting with Princess Allura out of intellectual curiosity. It seems that Alteans have been nearly relegated to a myth at this point, and apparently there are a number of popular stories where we are featured. All classic stories, of course, featuring versions of Alteans from my grandparents’ generation.” 

“Wait, so – what, he’s a geek for Altean culture?” Lance asked, grinning. “What kind of stories are they? Are you guys like elves to them or something?” 

“Well, I don’t know what elves are, but the portrayal seems to be more fictitious than historical in nature,” Coran replied. “I’ve read a few of the stories through a helpful translation service, and they seem to be a mixture of truth and fantasy.” 

“Do they think you can fly or something?” Keith asked. 

“I bet they have comic books where Allura has laser vision,” Pidge said, snickering. 

“Oooh, or psychic powers!” Hunk suggested. 

“Or super strength,” Lance added. 

“Alteans _do_ have super strength, though,” Pidge countered. “Allura threw Shiro across a room. _Shiro_. She threw him _across a room_.” 

“Well, yeah, compared to _us_ they’re strong, but we don’t know what the Valpri are like.” 

“Maybe _we_ have super strength compared to the Valpri,” Hunk said.

“Maybe you and Shiro do,” Pidge said, poking a finger into his shoulder. Hunk grinned and flexed his bicep, adopting a tough pose, and Pidge laughed. “Yeah, you should greet them just like that. Let them know whose boss.” 

“Hey, what about Keith and I? We’re strong too!” 

“Eh.” 

“What? No, no, no, that isn’t a response—” 

As the rest of the breakfast table descended into good-natured bickering, Shiro looked back at Allura, who had resumed eating her breakfast with a thoughtful expression on her face. 

“Do you have a plan for getting to their server yet?” he asked, finishing off his alien coffee.

“Not yet,” Allura replied, still half-lost in thought as she considered the challenge. She offered him a confident grin. “But give me some time. I’m sure I’ll think of something good.”

 

 

-

 

 

In the end, it was another two weeks before Allura brought up the Valpri mission again.

Pidge was fiddling half-heartedly with her helmet as she tried to find a workaround to extend its maximum range, but that day’s battle had stripped a lot of her energy. Between watching Hunk take a direct blast and nearly being torn straight out of Voltron, Pidge felt like every part of her had been put through the ringer.

“Oh my _god_ , my entire body is sore,” Lance moaned, flopping over onto the sofa and echoing Pidge’s own thoughts. “I have muscles I never even knew existed, and they’re all sore.” 

“We’ve been through worse,” Shiro debated, his head resting wearily on folded arms. He didn’t sound convinced by his own statement. 

“That doesn’t help at all, thanks,” Lance murmured, stretching out an arm to give Shiro a thumb’s up without looking. 

“No problem, buddy.” 

The door slid open, revealing Allura and Keith. The latter was cradling his bandaged right arm, but looked otherwise healthy. Allura, for her part, stared at the group with the bright-eyed energy of someone who hadn’t just fought in an hour-long battle. 

“Coran suggested Hunk pop into a pod for a varga or two to make sure he’s good to go,” Allura reported. “He could have healed on his own, but I wanted to make sure everyone was up in tip-top shape for our next mission, so Coran stayed back to monitor.” 

“Next mission?” Shiro asked, raising his head and shooting Allura with a reproving stare. “What’s going on? And why are we just now hearing about it?” 

“We only got confirmation after your battle,” Allura replied. “The Valpri officially approved our _meztri-pat_ request. They’re expecting us in five quintents. Which should give us just enough time to prepare.”

“For what, exactly?” Keith asked. “I thought you were still working on that plan.” 

“I was, but I think I’ve figured it out,” Allura said. She sat down at the table across from Shiro, her excitement about the plan contrasting sharply with Shiro’s clear exhaustion. Keith made his way over to the sofa and sat down next to Lance, prompting a brief scuffle that left both of them disheveled and glaring at each other, but somehow still upright and seated. 

Pidge rolled her eyes and continued to fiddle with the wires in her helmet. She wouldn’t unplug anything without Hunk there to double-check, but figuring out the layout of the helmet design was half the battle. 

At the table, Allura continued on despite the lack of focus. 

“The issue is with their security,” she explained. “We need to get someone in and out of the server room without being noticed, but from what Coran has gathered, they have extensive video surveillance. It would be nearly impossible for an alien to sneak in.” 

“Meaning that we can’t use Pidge this time,” Shiro concluded. 

Pidge looked up at the assertion, frowning at the notion of missing out on new alien technology. “Oh, come on, I’m the tech guy. I always do the sneaking!” 

“Not this time, I’m afraid,” Allura said, though she seemed pleased by Pidge’s protest. “It would be too much of a risk to hope you could evade all the security cameras.” 

“What if a couple of us just dressed up like the Valpri?” Lance asked. “Would that be enough to fool them?” 

“That’s an excellent idea, Lance,” Allura said. Lance grinned at the praise, cocking an eyebrow at Keith as if to brag, to which Keith responded by rolling his eyes. Not noticing, Allura drew out a display screen and pulled up an image. “However, it won’t be that simple. This is what the Valpri look like.” 

The display showed a large humanoid creature covered from head to toe in sleek brown fur, standing about six feet tall. It had thick, muscular arms and legs, though it slouched forward like a gorilla, as though used to resting on all fours when relaxed. It had large black eyes and whiskers framing a short snout. The alien would have looked fairly gentle if not for the sharp fangs descending from its mouth, and it wore a patterned cloth draped around its hips and torso that reminded Pidge of old Roman styles.

“Ohhhkay, yeah, we’re not disguising ourselves as that,” Lance admitted. 

Keith tilted his head. “If you ignore the fangs, they’re kinda cute.” 

“Yeah, if you skip the deadly parts, sure.”

“They look like evil otters,” Pidge concluded. “Or, like, gorilla-otters or something.” 

“They’re originally an aquatic species,” Allura said, not bothering to address the commentary. “Very dangerous in the water, and fairly strong overall. The Alteans had limited encounters with them before the Galra attacked, but from the observation we had gathered, we were nearly evenly matched. The Alteans probably had a slight edge outside of the water, simply due to flexibility, but in the water we were outclassed.” 

“What’s the plan then?” Shiro asked, examining the image in interest. “I think Hunk or I might be able to match it in general size, but our faces are way too different.” 

“I came to the same conclusion. The only option is for either me or Coran to do a full shape-shift and sneak in that way,” Allura answered. “Unfortunately, they’ve already met Coran, so he’ll be expected at the _metzri-pat_. I’m the only one who can pull it off.” 

“Yeah, but don’t you have to be there as the Altean Princess?” Keith asked. “I thought that was the entire reason they agreed to meet.” 

“That’s true,” Allura said, a sly grin playing on her lips. She glanced at Pidge in a way that made her freeze her hands inside the helmet, a sudden sense of foreboding shooting down her spine. “But the Valpri don’t actually know what I look like. And while we might not be able to disguise one of the paladins as a Valpri, disguising one of you as the Altean princess should be much easier.” 

Now Allura looked directly at her, and Pidge felt her stomach drop as she realized what was being suggested. 

“No,” she protested immediately. “No, no, nope. Hard pass.” 

“It would be for the mission!” Allura replied, as if Pidge couldn’t see the way her eyes gleamed at the opportunity to dress Pidge up. 

“Wait, sending in Pidge? As Princess Allura?” Lance asked, glancing between the two of them like he was trying to merge their image. It did not appear to be an easy task. 

The attention just made Pidge feel more self-conscious, and she re-doubled her efforts. “Uh, no, I am not capable of pulling off ‘princess’. This is a _terrible_ idea and I personally think we should consider literally any other option—”

“It’s not _that_ bad an idea,” Shiro said, though he kept his tone carefully neutral. He was also staring at Pidge with newfound interest, though his expression was more contemplative than Lance and Keith’s scrutiny.

“Exactly!” Allura said, clasping her hands together. “And don’t be silly, Pidge, you are perfectly lovely, I could make you look like a princess in no time.” 

“Why not choose Lance?” Pidge suggested, gesturing at him. “He’s pretty! He could totally pull off being a princess!” 

“Aw, you think I’m pretty?” Lance said, grinning and shooting her a teasing wink. “That’s so sweet.” 

“Shut up, Lance, this isn’t about you!” 

“Well, now that’s just rude,” Lance said in a stage whisper to Keith, who looked away to try and keep from laughing.

Allura stared plaintively at Pidge, ignoring the side conversations. “Pidge, it would work perfectly! The Valpri have only ever seen Coran in person, so if we give you a few Altean modifications, they won’t know any better. And then I can shape-shift to look like a Valpri guard and get the information we need. You’ll just need to act like me for a few vargas.” 

“I don’t know how to act like a princess,” Pidge protested. She could sense everyone’s eyes on her, evaluating the truth in her statement, and she felt her cheeks grow hot. “I’m a hacker! I sneak around in the dark! I don’t know how to princess. Princesses are – I dunno, graceful and articulate, and they wear fancy dresses like you do, and the last time I wore heels, I tripped on a rock and spilled an entire pudding on my grandmother, I am _not kidding_.” 

Beside her, Lance had given up any façade of professionalism and was laughing at her rambling. Even Shiro and Keith looked like they were suppressing grins, and Pidge wasn’t entirely sure how to feel about it. Because nothing she said was wrong, and it _had_ been a funny story – Matt loved to bring it up whenever her mother talked about buying her nicer clothes – but she couldn’t help the twinge of shame at their amusement. She stared at Allura’s effortless elegance with a frown, hands fisting around her helmet as she felt the flush in her cheeks start to burn behind her eyes. 

“Pidge, don’t be silly! I will teach you everything you need to know, and of course, I’ll do your hair—” 

“Why don’t we talk about the plan tomorrow?” Shiro cut in abruptly, no longer sounding amused. Pidge couldn’t read anything else in his expression as he said, “We’re all pretty tired right now from the battle. It’ll be easier to come up with a game plan after we’ve slept a bit.”

Allura looked like she wanted to protest, but Shiro gave her a pointed look and she subsided with a sigh. For a long moment, Pidge could feel the awkward silence linger in the air, and she stared at her helmet with determination, caught in the strange state between frustration and anger, like she was hovering on the cusp of being genuinely upset. 

It was stupid. Logically, she knew Allura’s plan made sense, even if she hated it. But she was tired and sore, and the thought of prancing around in a dress made her stomach twist with anxiety. She could almost hear Lance teasing her already. 

Luckily, between Lance and Keith, nothing stayed quiet for long. Soon the tension was broken by Lance taking offense at Keith’s injury – “Why would you wrap it like that? That’s just going to make it worse!” / “I already told you, _Coran_ did it, go yell at him.” – and Pidge took the opportunity to slip out of the room. 

She could feel Shiro watching her as she left, but she steadfastly ignored him.

 

 

-

 

 

“You need to talk to Pidge,” Allura said the next morning, unprompted, as they watched the rest of the paladins run through speed exercises. 

Shiro managed to contain a sigh, but only barely. Pidge had skipped breakfast that morning, almost certainly to avoid finishing yesterday’s discussion, and Shiro could tell that Allura’s patience was wearing thin. Still, he kept his eyes trained on Keith’s run through the obstacle course as he replied, “I’m sure she’ll wind up agreeing. Logically, your plan makes the most sense.” 

“The longer we wait, the less time I’ll have to train her,” Allura pressed. “Altean customs are going to be different from your Earth customs, and if their leader is a fan of Altean history, he’s almost certainly going to know some of them—” 

“Allura,” Shiro cut her off. “I understand that. But to be honest, I’m not a big fan of the plan either, so I want to make sure she has time to consider it.” 

“Why don’t you like it?” Allura asked, a flicker of uncertainty flashing in her eyes. “It’s the best option we have to get the information, and you know that.”

“It also puts Pidge in a very risky position,” Shiro countered. “If she’s dressed as you, she won’t have her bayard or her suit. And unlike you, Pidge doesn’t have a lot of experience with hand-to-hand combat. I don’t like the idea of sending one of our paladins into an unknown situation with little to no defenses.” 

Allura went quiet for a moment, staring at the obstacle course as Keith finished his run. Lance shouted a challenge from the starting line and took his place, gesturing for Hunk to monitor his time. Pidge sat on the ground beside Hunk, expression distant, and Shiro couldn’t help but notice how tiny she looked. The other paladins were all too young, a fact that disturbed Shiro every time he found himself ushering them into battle, but Pidge was by far the hardest one for him to rationalize. She still looked too much like the tiny slip of a girl he’d met in passing at the Kerberos launch ceremony, despite all they’d been through by now. 

“I do plan to send an entourage,” Allura said, her intensity tempered by Shiro’s concerns. “It’s royal custom, so it won’t just be Pidge and Coran making the trip. We can send two of the paladins to act as bodyguards.”

“I’m going,” Shiro replied immediately.

“I assumed as much,” Allura said. “As the leader of Voltron, it would be customary for you to attend anyway. And I think Lance would be best for the other guard. He can be very observant, and he’ll keep his head if something does go wrong. Besides, that leaves Keith and Hunk to guard the castle. If you’re going to be on planet, I’d rather keep the fastest and strongest lions in reserve.” 

Shiro nodded, mulling over the plan. “We can work out the details, but I’ll talk to her after practice,” he agreed. Then, noticing Lance and Keith bickering over their respective course times, Shiro rolled his eyes and said, “Though right now I think I need to go show those two what a _real_ course record looks like.” 

“Don’t hurt yourself,” Allura advised, watching the familiar quarreling with an amused smile.

“No promises.” 

In the end, after Shiro soundly beat both Lance and Keith’s records and unintentionally issued a new challenge, it took another hour before everyone had the chance to run through the course at least three times. Lance and Keith, motivated by their rivalry, had gone five times each, and both looked thoroughly exhausted by the time they called a truce. The rest of them weren’t much better, so Shiro opted to let everyone out early to clean up before lunch. 

Freshly showered and changed, Shiro made his way to Pidge’s room. The door was half-open when he arrived and he could see her inside, dressed in lounging clothes with a towel draped around her shoulders. From her messy half-dried hair to the way she hunched over her laptop, tapping out some unknown instructions, Shiro could easily see the resemblance between her and Matt. 

It was weird, how his fondness would mix with pain whenever he caught the image of Matt reflecting off Pidge. His absence felt like an open wound at the best of times. 

Shaking off the melancholy, Shiro knocked on the doorframe. He hid a smirk as Pidge jumped, torn from her thoughts. 

“Oh, hey Shiro,” Pidge said. She was seated cross-legged on the floor, back resting against the edge of her bed, but she looked up at the sight of him. “Sorry, I didn’t—” 

“I just got here,” Shiro assured her, gesturing for her to stay seated.

“Oh,” she replied, running a hand through her shaggy hair. It had grown out since the start of their adventure, the longest strands hanging nearly down to her shoulders, but Pidge didn’t seem to have any plans to control it. “Did I miss lunch? I was just checking my tracker—” 

“Don’t worry, we have time,” interjected Shiro. He stepped inside her room, leaving the door open and sitting on the edge of her desk. “I wanted to talk with you about Allura’s plan. She said she’d like to start working on it this afternoon.” 

Pidge looked away, shoulders hunching in on themselves as she replied, “Oh. That.” 

“You don’t seem to be a fan.”

She scoffed and twisted her face in a clear message of _no duh_ , a gesture so eerily reminiscent of Matt that Shiro nearly did a double take. “Allura wants me to dress up in a fancy dress and act like her in front of an entire country. I wasn’t even able to give a toast at my grandmother’s birthday party without tripping over my own two feet. It’s going to be a disaster.” 

“I know you had a bad experience with heels, but I’ve seen you run through Galra soldiers and take them all out without breaking your sprint,” Shiro said. “I genuinely doubt you’re that graceless.” 

“That’s fighting, it’s different.” 

“Yeah, you’re right,” Shiro agreed. “Fighting’s harder.” 

Pidge made a non-committal noise and stared harder at her computer, jaw tightly set. 

Shiro stared at her for a long moment, considering his approach. Quietly, he prodded, “What’s the actual issue here? I know you’ve worn dresses before. And even if we could find heels in your size somewhere in storage, you don’t have to wear them. I don’t even know if Alteans have heels. So, what’s bugging you?”

Pidge stayed quiet, staring at her computer, but Shiro had plenty of practice outlasting long silences in conversation from his friendship with Keith. Finally, just as Shiro was contemplating rephrasing his question, Pidge said, “The last time I wore a dress was at the Kerberos launch. My mom made me. Said it was an important event for my dad and brother, so I had to dress up.” 

She paused, fidgeting with the sleeves of her shirt, and Shiro prompted, “So you hate wearing dresses?” 

“It’s not about the dress,” Pidge muttered. “I don’t care about wearing dresses by themselves. It’s just – the rest of it.” 

“The rest of it?” 

“The _girly_ stuff,” Pidge clarified, making a face, and then sighed at Shiro’s clear confusion. “It’s never just the dress. It’s the dress, and the _heels_ , and the _make-up_ , and making _small talk_ about _boys_ , and having to do everything all _pretty_. And you have to sit in a certain way, and eat in a certain way, and keep your hair arranged _just so_ , and it’s exhausting. And – I don’t know, maybe if I was Allura, it would be easy, but I’m _really_ bad at it. I’ve always been a girl, but the only thing I ever liked about being _girly_ was having long hair, and that’s really just because my mom liked to brush it.” 

She sighed, setting her computer aside and pulling her knees up to her chest. Shiro was struck yet again by how young she looked. Then, frowning at the thought, Shiro asked, “How old are you, Pidge?” 

She blinked at the change in topic, finally looking back up at him. “I just turned fifteen. I mean, I think so. I haven’t really been keeping track of the calendar on Earth since we got out here.” 

“What?” Shiro said, startled. He stared at her. “You can’t even join the Galaxy Garrison until you’re sixteen, so how—?” 

Pidge’s expression was a familiar mix of proud and abashed. “I _may_ have lied a little bit on Pidge Gunderson’s application. I actually thought you already knew. I mean, you knew who I was from stories, so—”

“I never did the math,” Shiro admitted, just barely resisting the urge to laugh. It wasn’t funny to think that he’d sent a _fourteen-year-old_ out to fight, but the sheer strangeness of their situation made him feel a bit overwhelmed. He covered his face with one hand. “When we find your father, he’s going to be furious with you. You realize that, right?”

“ _When_ we find him, it’ll be worth it,” Pidge replied resolutely. 

“True,” Shiro admitted, and then took a deep breath, recalibrating his approach now that he had a solid grasp on just how young Pidge was. After all his experiences in space, he could scarcely remember what he was like ten years ago, but he definitely knew that fifteen-year-old Takashi hadn’t been under anywhere near the same amount of pressure as Pidge. “Look, I’m not going to pretend I know what it’s like to feel forced to be feminine. I had a lot of doubts when I was growing up about what manliness was, and while I’m sure some of our experiences are similar, that’s not going to be all that helpful right now. But I do know that you don’t need to worry about comparing yourself to Allura.” 

“But the entire plan is about me pretending to be her,” Pidge said. “How else am I supposed to act like a princess?” 

“She can teach you whatever you need to know,” Shiro assured her. “I’m not that concerned about that part. I know you think you’re bad at being girly, and hey, that might be the case, but that doesn’t matter. Because you _are_ good at being sneaky.” 

Pidge shot him a puzzled look, knitting her brow. “How does that help?” 

“Just pretend you’re sneaking into Galaxy Garrison again,” Shiro suggested. “Except this time, you have to act like Allura in order to fool everyone. I mean, was pretending to be a boy completely natural to you?” 

“No, I guess not,” Pidge admitted. “Not really. But I didn’t have to wear heels, so…” 

“Look, the fact is, you fooled an entire military complex into thinking you were someone completely different,” Shiro said. “And that was on _Earth_ , where everyone is very well versed in how people are supposed to act.” 

“Yeah, but most of you guys knew I was a girl before I told you,” Pidge argued. 

“We literally mind-melded,” Shiro countered. “That doesn’t count. Hell, Lance still didn’t figure it out. And Allura only knew because the mice told her, though I’ve got nothing on Coran. Maybe he’s special. The fact is: you’re good at sneaking around. If you were able to trick all those adults on Earth into thinking you were a sixteen-year-old boy for months, tricking the Valpri into thinking you’re an Altean princess for a few hours should be easy.” 

Pidge stared at him like she didn’t believe him, plucking restlessly at the sleeve of her shirt. She bit her lip, casting her eyes away, and said, “Okay. Let’s say I do it. I don’t… I don’t have to act exactly like her, right? I mean, I can do the accent, but I don’t know if I can be… Y’know. All pretty and elegant or whatever.” 

Her cheeks went pink as she muttered the last bit, eyes locked on her hands. It reminded Shiro of junior high, all lanky limbs and cracking voice, and he swallowed back the urge to reassure her about her own grace. Any compliments would sound fake no matter how sincerely he issued them. 

Instead, he said, “I think you’ll surprise yourself with how well you can pull it off.” 

Pidge glanced up at him, expression skeptical, but she didn’t argue. Heaving a sigh, she clamored to her feet, running her hands through her hair and mussing it up even further. “Okay,” she said, shrugging. “It really is the best plan we’ve got. But – um. Can you promise me something?” 

“What?” 

“I know you were at the Kerberos launch, but… no one else has ever seen me in a dress,” Pidge said. “And I know they wouldn’t do it to be mean, but – if, say, Lance tries to make any jokes—” 

“Pidge, I promise that if anyone decides to make fun of you, they will thoroughly regret it,” Shiro swore, reaching out a hand to clap her on the back. 

“…Thanks.”

 

 

-

 

 

Pidge wasn’t sure what to expect when she arrived at Allura’s bedroom that afternoon. 

However, as she stared at the massive pile of clothing and shoes strewn across Allura’s bed, she could safely say she hadn’t prepared for this. 

“Really, Allura?” Pidge said, unable to keep the dread entirely from her voice. “This is all just a ploy for you to play Barbie, isn’t it?” 

“What’s Barbie?” Allura asked, poking her head out from another room. As Pidge stepped closer, she could see more clothes hanging in rows behind her. “Is that a princess game on Earth?” 

“Kinda?” Pidge said. “It’s a type of doll that you can buy outfits for.” 

“Oh, we had something like that!” Allura said, grinning brightly. “Very interesting technology, really – the dolls could shapeshift like Alteans to an extent. We’d give them out as diplomatic gifts to children. I wish I had a couple left to give to the Valpri, they are quite charming.” 

“Hm,” Pidge said, poking through the assorted items on the bed. There was a rainbow of different dresses and shoes, accompanied by various pieces of jewelry and other adornments. She picked up a strange oblong construction made of blue felt and touched the thick embroidery that lined the outside. “What is this? Some kind of hat?” 

“Oh, no, that’s a leg brace,” Allura replied. 

“Wait, like – for injuries?”

Allura laughed as she walked over, taking the blue brace from Pidge’s hands. “No, of course not – it was a bit of fashion. See?” She slipped a leg into the fabric and laced it up through a series of twists and pulls. It looked like a strange, pretty cast that began mid-thigh and ended just past her knee. “It was a fad when I was growing up. It’s too small now, obviously, but it was with all my old things when I pulled them out of storage.” 

“Wait, this is your old stuff?” Pidge asked. She glanced at the rows of clothing hanging inside the closet and silently boggled at having so many things to wear. 

“Of course!” Allura said. “I doubt any of my clothing now would fit you. I’m rather tall, even by Altean standards. But my childhood dresses would work well. _And_ —” she said, her voice cajoling—“there aren’t any heels!” 

Pidge stared at her as she mentally cursed Shiro’s big mouth. Then, glancing at the bed, she pulled a pair of delicate, lacy shoes from the top of the stack and pointed directly at the slender heels. “You gonna stick with that claim?” 

“Oh, those are _barely_ heels—”

“Kitten heels are still heels, Allura!”

“Those shoes don’t look like cats at all, Pidge, I have no idea what you’re talking about.” 

Dropping the low heels back into the stack of clothing, Pidge sighed. “Be honest, is this whole thing just going to be a lot of me trying on dresses?” 

Allura paused as she poked through the dresses on the bed, glancing over at Pidge and looking a bit abashed. Pidge had no idea what she had to feel embarrassed about; it wasn’t like she was the one who would be trying on different silly outfits. Still, Allura sounded a bit more subdued as she replied, “Well, no, not exactly. Coran is putting together a lovely brief on Altean history and culture for you to read through, and I have a few rituals that we will need to rehearse.” 

Pidge raised an eyebrow, hearing the hesitation in her tone. 

“But?” she prompted.

Allura sighed, stepping back from the stack of dresses and facing Pidge directly. “I was rather hoping we could – how did you say it? – play Barbie? At least for a bit.” 

Pidge could feel herself begin to deflate, glancing at the pile of frills and lace and silky fabric with a heavy heart. She took a deep breath, feeling a groan beginning to bubble up in her throat, but a glance at Allura’s face stopped her protest in its tracks. 

Allura was watching her with trepidation, looking far more hopeful and nervous than Pidge would have predicted. She had never quite understood Allura’s occasional overtures toward having “girl time” before, especially given that she and Pidge seemed to share so few interests, but the expression on Allura’s face felt strangely open. 

It was that more than anything else that prompted Pidge to pause before immediately rejecting the idea. Instead, she asked, “Why?” 

“Well—” Allura began, clearly not expecting the tempered response—“I just – well. I used to do this with my mother and cousins before big events. We’d try on clothes and experiment with new types of braids and all that… It was fun. I guess I thought it might— oh, I don’t know,” She broke off, turning back to the bed and fussing with the dresses again, but Pidge could see the way her smile began to fall. 

Pidge stared at her. She suddenly recalled going on shopping trips with her mother, being dragged along from store to store and trying hard not to whine all the while. It was exhausting and Pidge hated having to get anything fancy, so she had always suffered through the trips with barely contained boredom. 

However, at the end of every shopping trip, she and her mother would go to the local ice cream shop and share a giant banana split. It was their special treat, her mom always said. They’d done it a week before the Kerberos launch, and Pidge could still remember her mother hugging her and saying, “Guess it’s just going to be you and me for awhile, huh, kiddo?” 

Her heart ached at the memory even now. 

In that moment, it struck Pidge that Allura lost everyone on Altea when the Galra attacked. It had been ten thousand years ago, but for Allura, it wouldn’t feel that way. She’d lost her family even more suddenly than Pidge had lost her own. Pidge had known that, of course, but it was so easy to forget with the craziness of Voltron always in the forefront of their lives. 

Still fussing at the bed, Allura continued a bit more quietly, “But I suppose I could just pick something out for you, if you’d rather read first—” 

“No, that’s okay,” Pidge interrupted. She reached into the stack of dresses and pulled out the first one she could reach. “We can play Barbie, really! I just, um, wanted to be sure. I should try on the dresses so we know they look good.” 

“Really?” Allura said. Her smile returned. “I promise it won’t be too much, honest – it’s just been so long since I’ve been able to dress anyone up, and I know you’ll look so lovely once we get you into some proper clothes—” 

“It’s fine,” Pidge said, smiling back. She mentally winced at the sheer size of the clothing mound in front of her, but the excitement in Allura’s eyes was enough to bolster her resolve. “I’m game. Let’s try on dresses.” 

Allura beamed at her. Then, raising a critical eyebrow, she gently suggested, “Perhaps not the one you’re holding, though, it doesn’t really seem to be your color.” 

“Huh?” Pidge asked, and then looked closer at the dress in her hands. It was a velvet collection of ruffles in jarring neon yellow and mauve. “Oh— yeah, no, that’s awful, why do you even have this?” 

“I think that was my cousin’s,” Allura said.

“Your cousin’s taste was terrible,” said Pidge, making a face. 

“She wasn’t my favorite cousin,” Allura admitted, winking, and Pidge thought that maybe this girl time wasn’t going to be so bad after all.

 

 

-

 

 

It was just past dinnertime when Hunk flagged Shiro down outside the kitchens. 

“Hey, could you bring this to Allura’s room?” he asked, holding out a bowl of some Altean snack foods. “She and Pidge missed dinner, so she asked if I could send some things up.” 

“No problem,” Shiro replied. He took the opportunity to steal a few of the treats as he walked. Half of the foods were a bit too strange to be mistaken for anything familiar, but there were some weird purple-colored discs that tasted almost exactly like Lay’s Barbeque potato chips. 

Allura’s door was cracked open when he knocked, and he warily peeked his head inside. “Hey, Hunk asked me to bring some… stuff…” 

The room was dimly lit, and clothes were strewn everywhere, nearly covering the floor entirely. Pidge and Allura were sitting on the bed, surrounded by pillows with their faces lit by the glow off Pidge’s laptop screen. If they had been working on cultural lessons, it had clearly long since ceased, as both of them were fully engaged in whatever show they were watching. Allura had changed into a simple long gown with a cozy robe wrapped around her, but it was Pidge’s outfit that made Shiro stop in his tracks. He had been half-expecting her to be wearing a dress or ceremonial outfit, but instead she was covered from head to toe in some sort of fluffy orange jumpsuit. 

“What are you wearing?” Shiro asked, gaping. 

Both girls turned to look at him, and Pidge grinned brightly. “I have no idea! But it’s _so_ comfortable!” 

“It’s a sleeping outfit!” Allura claimed. “See? It looks just like _hoissmirl_ fur!” 

“What’s a _hoissmirl_?” queried Shiro, shutting the door behind him and bringing the snacks over to the bed. On the laptop, cartoon Chinese soldiers bickered on a field, and Shiro paused as he recognized it. “Is that Mulan?”

“Yeah, Allura wanted to see what kind of traditional fashions we had on Earth,” Pidge said. “And I don’t actually have a lot of information on any of that, so I figured this was something.” 

“A _hoissmirl_ is a type of large mammal related to the _klamirl_ ,”Allura answered Shiro’s first question. “It’s rather like your – what was it, Pidge? Grisly beer?” 

“Grizzly bear,” Pidge corrected, swiping a handful of snacks from the bowl. 

Shiro raised an eyebrow. “You’re wearing teddy bear pajamas?” 

“You can laugh all you want,” Pidge countered, noting his tone. “I haven’t felt this cozy in ages. It’s _so soft_.” 

On the laptop, a familiar beat began as another soldier took the field and started to sing. 

“Oh, look, Shiro!” Pidge exclaimed, grinning and pointing to the screen. “It’s you every morning at training!” 

Shiro rolled his eyes. “Somehow I think that approach isn’t as effective as it looks.”

“What, you mean you don’t get your muscles through shirtless training montages?” Pidge asked, eyes mockingly wide. “Disney _lied_ to me.” 

“Are you going to stay and watch the movie with us?” Allura asked, glancing between the screen and Shiro. She looked more relaxed than Shiro had ever seen her, resting comfortably against a sea of pillows. Without waiting for an answer, she moved over on the bed, leaving a space wide enough for him to sit. 

The small part of him that insisted on being productive was easily overridden by the matching invitations on their faces. Shiro sat down on the edge of the bed and leaned back against the mountain of pillows. 

As the characters on screen sang about being a man, he said, “At what point are you actually going to teach Pidge about those Altean customs, exactly?” 

“Shh,” Allura said, waving a hand at him. Her eyes didn’t leave the screen. 

“She’s been teaching me plenty, Shiro,” Pidge assured him. “But it’s Disney time now. _Shhh_.” 

Shiro grinned, shaking his head, and let himself be absorbed by the story onscreen.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For anyone curious: don't worry, I will address the fact that Pidge & King Alfor don't look alike in the next chapter.
> 
> Also, the translation software is my personal explanation for how everyone can understand each other, because I am literally a linguist in my real life & that's the only way I can write around it. It just make no sense, guys. We have nearly 7,000 languages on Earth alone. There's just NO WAY they all understand each other. I just. I can't.
> 
> As for Pidge, I took inspiration for her particular strain of anti-femininity from my own experiences growing up, where I convinced myself for far too long that anything girly was bad, because, y'know... internalized misogyny & all that. :/ I totally understand that everyone has different views on how to characterize Pidge (which is why she's such a fun character, imo), so I definitely don't intend this as a end-all-be-all for Pidge's characterization. It's just the plot point I wanted to explore with this story. :)
> 
> I hope you all like this story so far! Please let me know in the comments! Also, feel free to follow me on [Tumblr](http://panaili.tumblr.com). :)


	2. Chapter 2

 

 

 

 

 

It had been a long week preparing for their visit to the Valpri home world. Pidge and Allura spent most of their time secluded up in Allura’s room, going over Altean courtly customs and history in order to ensure that Pidge could pass as Altean royalty for at least one evening. Every night that week, Shiro had seen Pidge bent over her laptop as she studied, muttering names under her breath and occasionally acting out unfamiliar gestures.

She was not alone in her studies. By the second night, Allura had dragged Shiro and Lance into the ordeal as well, instructing them in the proper ways that escorts were supposed to stand and address superiors. It took all of five minutes to realize that Lance, while plenty graceful when trying to woo an attractive alien, was not well suited to strict court movements. 

“How are you this bad at facing movements?” Shiro asked. He stared down at Lance, who had tripped while attempting an about-face, and tried his best not to laugh. “You were literally enrolled at Galaxy Garrison – a _military academy_. This can’t be the first time you’ve done this.” 

“Please, like the Garrison actually made us march,” Lance said as he scrambled to his feet. “We were a glorified nerd school and you know it.”

“We had military ceremonies practically every _week_ —”

“Don’t try to rationalize it, Shiro,” Hunk called out. He and Keith were camped out at the front of the training room, where they had been heckling both of them for the past hour. “There was a reason our team was never selected for Cadet Team of the Quarter, and our combined lack of military bearing was a large part of that.”

“Yeah, not everyone was part of Honor Guard,” Keith added with sly grin. 

Shiro shot him a cold glare, but the damage was done.

“Dude, I can totally see you as Honor Guard,” Lance said, laughing. “You called out the commands, didn’t you?”

Shiro rolled his eyes. “It’s not that hard—”

“I bet he ironed his uniform every morning,” Lance joked. 

Keith nodded. “Yeah, it was pristine.” 

“Guys—” 

“Did you polish your boots every night?” Hunk asked. 

“Oh, Iverson probably flipped his shit when he saw that,” Lance said. He lowered his voice and adopted a gruff expression, mocking, “Well, I’ll be _damned_ if those aren’t the shiniest pair of military leathers that I’ve seen in this entire fucking _compound_ , Cadet Shirogane! You do your nation proud, son!” 

Both Keith and Hunk cracked up at the impression.

Sighing, Shiro shook his head. “So much for last minute training,” he muttered, but he couldn’t quite mask the amusement in his voice. They had been working on facing movements and proper bearing all week, and despite the occasional mix-up, Lance had actually done a decent job of learning his position. Keith and Hunk had mostly been helpful, but everyone was full of anticipation for their upcoming mission. It wasn’t that surprising that they were too spun up to concentrate.

With that in mind, Shiro figured it was a good time to see how the rest of the team was doing. Raising his voice to be heard over the boys’ conversation, Shiro said, “I’m going to check on Allura and Pidge. Be ready for the pre-mission brief in thirty minutes, okay?” 

He stayed just long enough to see Lance’s mid-snicker thumbs-up, and then made his way down the corridor to Allura’s room. 

As he approached, Shiro could hear Pidge’s voice echoing through the door. 

“—you’re _sure_ there’s nothing less frilly?”

Allura’s long-suffering voice came next. “Pidge, I promise you, that is the least frilly gown I have—” 

“The one you’re wearing right now isn’t!” 

“This isn’t a formal gown, Pidge,” Allura explained, with the air of someone who has already done so repeatedly. “Trust me, if I was actually going to be meeting with the Valpri royal family, I would be wearing something at least as elegant as that.”

“I look stupid,” Pidge muttered, just barely audible from the hallway. 

Shiro frowned. Part of him wanted to back away and let Allura handle whatever nerves were clearly getting to Pidge, but a glance at the clock by the door informed him that they did not have that luxury. They needed to hop to the Valpri planet in the next hour if they wanted to start their mission on time.

With that in mind, Shiro knocked sharply on the door.

“Come in,” Allura called, a distinct note of relief in her tone. 

Slipping into the room, Shiro prepared himself for the sight of Pidge in some sort of ridiculous dress. He had no idea what to expect from Altean formal wear, but having seen the piles of clothing Allura had pulled out for this endeavor, he could only imagine the sort of get-up Pidge might be wearing. 

Pidge and Allura turned to face him when he entered, and Shiro was pleasantly surprised to see his worries proven needless. Pidge wore a floor-length emerald gown, with double layers that flowed loosely below a bejeweled empire waist. Her chest and shoulders were covered with intricately detailed lacing, which simultaneously emphasized her slight curves while still giving the impression of feminine modesty. Pidge had even managed to locate a pair of simple black flats rather than the ornate heels Allura initially wanted. 

Allura had carefully given Pidge stylized make-up in order to play up her eyes. It highlighted a set of fake Altean markings on her cheekbones that mirrored Allura’s own markings, except that she had chosen a pale green for Pidge’s color. Pidge’s hair was pulled up into an elegant twisting style, interwoven with an emerald ribbon and tiny crystals, and a delicate diadem rested just below her hairline. Her ears had been transformed into a delicately pointed Altean shape. 

If not for the familiar round glasses on her face, Shiro would have sworn he was looking at a pretty young Altean girl rather than his sister paladin. For a moment, he just stared in shock. 

“What?” Pidge asked, shifting nervously. She made a face at him, an all-too-familiar combination of scorn and anxiety that shattered the momentary illusion. Turning to Allura, she said, “See? Even Shiro thinks I look ridiculous—” 

“No, he doesn’t,” Allura assured her, shooting Shiro a glare. “He was just _surprised_ by how lovely you look, isn’t that _right_ , Shiro?” Her tone made clear the correct answer. 

Already realizing his mistake, Shiro immediately replied, “No, I definitely don’t think you look ridiculous, Pidge. I was just amazed at how Altean you look right now. Allura got the features just right. You look perfect.” 

Allura grinned at him. “Isn’t it fantastic? I found some old costume molding in my closet and it worked just as well as it did when my cousins and I played with it. It automatically adjusts to match the color of whatever it’s stuck to and blends in with just a bit of make-up. Unless someone tries to touch her ears, there should be no way to tell.”

Pidge shifted uncomfortably as they looked at her, scrutinizing the outfit. Giving Shiro a skeptical look, she said, “So… I look ‘princess-y’ enough?”

“Well,” Shiro said, tapping a finger on his chin in thought. “You’ll probably need to lose the glasses. Are you going to be okay to see?”

“Huh?” Pidge asked, frowning. She snatched the glasses off her face. “Oh, right. Don’t worry, they’re just blue-light glasses. I wear them to cut down on eye strain when I’m using computer screens.”

“I was wondering why you never needed them for battle.” 

“The visor on our helmets does the same thing, actually,” Pidge added, grinning. “It’s a really neat advancement, like most of the built-in functions of our suits. I bet the scientists on Earth would love to get ahold of them—can you imagine how many technological breakthroughs we could help engineer just with Altean suit technology? It’s _fascinating_.” 

Watching Pidge fall into nerdy babble was a familiar sight, but this was the first time Shiro had seen her do it while dressed to the nines in an elegant Altean gown. He couldn’t stop the fond smile that appeared on his face. He exchanged a glance with Allura, who was looking exhausted but victorious. 

Just as he was about to interrupt Pidge before she descended _too_ deeply into the realm of theoretical engineering, Shiro heard the sound of approaching feet.

He stepped toward the door just as he heard Lance call out, “Hey, are you guys in here—?” 

Before Shiro could run interference, Lance ambled through the open doorway. He stopped short, catching sight of Pidge, and his mouth dropped open in shock. Behind him, Keith cursed as he bumped into him, and Lance stumbled forward a few feet. Unaffected, Lance grinned with the excitement of a kid on Christmas, not taking his eyes off Pidge. 

Pidge cut off mid-sentence, suddenly looking even more awkward than before. She stared at Lance and Keith with trepidation.

Just as Lance was opening his mouth – and Shiro was contemplating actively cutting him off – he was interrupted by Hunk, who had entered unnoticed in the wake of Lance’s excitement. 

“Oh, Pidge!” Hunk exclaimed, a wide smile cutting across his face. “You look awesome! See, I knew you could pull off the princess look!” 

Pidge blinked in surprise at the sudden praise. She plucked nervously at her dress and shot Hunk a small, wary smile. “It doesn’t look bad?”

“Aw, man, Hunk!” Lance said, swatting Hunk with mock annoyance. “I was gonna ask her which Disney princess she was! I told you that had to be our first question!”

“And I told you it was a stupid joke,” Keith said. 

“Your _face_ is a stupid joke—” 

Ignoring both of them, Hunk told Pidge, “Nah, you look great. I would totally swear you were 100% Altean. Though I’m still not sure how we’re going to convince people you’re King Alfor’s daughter, exactly. You don’t really look anything like him.” 

“Don’t worry, we’ve thought of that,” Allura said. “Coran already sent a made-up biography of ‘Princess Allura’ to the Valpri that shows Pidge as one of the royal cousins. Altean custom dictates that royal children stay clear of interplanetary affairs until they come of age and I was still a bit too young for that, so there wouldn’t be any record of my father’s specific children. That way, even if they happened to be familiar with my father, we can easily claim that ‘Princess Allura’ is from another branch of the family tree.” 

“You could pull off being Coran’s daughter,” Hunk said. “Couple of super space nerds.” 

“He’d fit in perfectly with my family,” Pidge replied, grinning at him. “When we find them, I’ll have to let my dad know I’ve adopted another dad in his absence.”

“Ha, yeah, and like four brothers. And a sister.”

“Speaking of Coran,” Shiro said, glancing at the time, “I think it’s about time for us to head up to bridge to do the jump. Lance, you and I need to change into our paladin armor. Allura, do you have everything you need for your part?” 

“I just need to change as well,” Allura said. “I’ll meet the rest of you up on the bridge in thirty doboshes.” 

As he turned to leave, Shiro heard Lance say to Pidge, “No, but seriously, what Disney princess would you be?” 

“Which one would _you_ be?” Pidge shot back, making a face at him. 

“Uh, _Ariel_ , duh. She’s obviously the coolest.” 

“What? Are you kidding? She gives up her kingdom for some random dude!” Pidge exclaimed. “Moana is way better. She learns a whole new system of navigation and travels across the ocean to save her island!”

“Ariel has an awesome voice and is really passionate! And she has a ton of fish friends, that’s super cool.” 

“Moana is friends with the _entire ocean_!” 

Rolling his eyes, Shiro grabbed Lance by the arm and dragged him out of the room himself. Before the door closed behind him, Lance shouted, “This isn’t over, Gunderson!”

Matching pace with Shiro, Keith scoffed, “Mulan is clearly better than both of them.” 

“I dunno,” Hunk said, “I always liked Tiana.” 

“What?” Lance gasped, sounding personally wounded. 

Shiro sighed as the argument began anew.

 

 

-

 

 

In spite of her anxiety, Pidge stared through the shuttle windows with excitement as they approached the Valpri planet. As a diplomatic shuttle, it was larger than the standard ships, but her seat was still close enough to the window to enable easy viewing. 

“It looks like a Creamsicle,” she noted, watching the white clouds swirl over pale orange sky. 

“What’s that, exactly?” Coran asked. 

“A type of dessert on Earth,” she explained vaguely, too concerned with the view outside to elaborate. “Is the atmosphere really heavy in sulfur on this planet?” 

“I believe there is a decent amount, yes. Plus, the planet has more of an oval shape, so the refraction of light from their closest star is often at a sharper angle than on your Earth.”

“It’s like they have sunset for hours,” Pidge interpreted as she continued her examination of the new planet. “That’s so cool.” 

The shuttle shook as they entered the atmosphere of the Valpri planet, sending a hard jolt down Pidge’s spine. She sat back in her chair, alarmed by the shuddering. At least when the Green Lion took hits, she had control of the craft.

“Sorry about that!” Coran called back from his position in the pilot’s chair. He sounded entirely too cheerful about their rocky descent. “The gases that make up the outer layer are particularly explosive when disturbed.” 

“It’s okay,” Pidge replied, though she gripped the armrests so tightly her knuckles were turning white. She took a deep breath, trying to settle her nerves, but now that they had finally entered the atmosphere, she couldn’t help but think of her impending task.

As the shuttle trembled around her, Pidge concentrated on holding still to keep from messing up any part of her meticulous costume. There were ornaments in her hair and makeup from her face all the way down her arms, where Allura had painstakingly drawn in matching sets of green Altean markings. A pair of lace-trimmed black gloves covered the markings up to her elbow, rendering the designs nearly useless, but Allura hadn’t wanted to take any chances. 

“The key to disguise is commitment,” she had advised when she gave Pidge her final mission brief. “You have the play the part to the hilt. And that means making sure all the details are correct.”

At the time, Pidge had been feeling relatively confident in her ability to pull this off, but now that they had actually breached the Valpri atmosphere, her nerves were starting to overwhelm her again. The silky swish of a dress around her legs alone made panic start to edge into the back of her throat. The entire plan rested on her being a convincing princess, which made her wish her childhood had been a bit more stereotypically girly. Sure, playing scientist or astronaut or superhero was very empowering and all that for five-year-old Katie, but some memories of playing princess tea party might actually come in handy now.

Taking a deep breath, Pidge tried to focus again. Quietly, she murmured, “Alfor, Temlin, Koron, Zyner, Mettia, Teran—” 

“Are you going over the family lineage again?” Coran asked, though Pidge had no idea how he heard her over the groaning of the spaceship. Through the window at the front, Pidge could see flashes of orange sky sprinkled with wispy white clouds, which looked even brighter now that they were inside the planet. 

“Just trying to calm my nerves,” Pidge said. She tried to pick up where she left off, but couldn’t quite remember the next in line. Frustrated, she said, “Ugh, this is so much easier with the elements.” 

“It might be helpful to try and base them off your actual family,” Coran suggested. 

“How would that help?” Pidge asked. “My family is _way_ smaller than the Altean royal lineage.” 

“It’s not like all the royals knew each other particularly well either,” Coran explained. He shot her a glance over the shoulder, his mustache nearly masking his grin. “As you know, there were nearly 46 royal cousins in the Altean heyday. I remember Allura only being particularly close to three or four of them.” 

“But what if Xra Kesmit asks a ton of questions about them?” Pidge asked. 

“Make it up,” Coran suggested. At Pidge’s annoyed groan, he said, “Hey, you can’t prepare for every challenge, Number Five! Sometimes you have to adapt.”

Pidge stared down at her borrowed dress with barely contained nerves. A flash outside the shuttle caught her eye, and Pidge stared jealously as the Blue Lion flew past them. Lance and Shiro were each in their lions, flying in wide circles as Coran piloted the shuttle down to the surface of the Valpri planet. Allura was already hidden on the Black Lion, waiting for Pidge’s visit to begin so she could start her own mission.

Pidge sighed. She hated being the distraction.

In an attempt to calm her nerves, Pidge focused her attention on the world outside. As they drew closer, Pidge was able to make out more of the features below. The terrain looked mostly mountainous. By the lack of lights, Pidge suspected they were uninhabited, but they were too far away to know for sure. Rivers threaded through the mountains like veins, and the forests that surrounded the mountains were lush with green trees. The water reflected a light purple-pink color rather than the traditional blue, which looked rather odd. Pidge was struck with a sudden urge to test it to determine what chemicals made the light refract differently, even though chemistry had always been Matt’s pet discipline rather than hers. 

Their destination was an enormous basin surrounded on three sides by rocky hills. A large river bordered its fourth side, flowing down from the mountains in the east and continuing along through the rough landscape west of the city. Lights fully lit up the area, highlighting several tall buildings and other elegant, sophisticated structures that made Pidge’s eyes widen with interest. Once they were close enough, Pidge could see that every building was made with a different bright color, creating a rainbow effect that mostly reminded her of picture books from her childhood. 

 _Oh, the places I will go_ , she thought fondly, staring in wonder at the uniquely shaped buildings as they glided past. Matt was going to be so jealous when she told him she’d visited a Dr. Seuss planet.

With one final jolt, Coran brought the shuttle down, landing more gracefully than their shaky entry would have predicted. Pidge unlatched her flight restraints, feeling the anxiety in her stomach begin to form into a tight ball. She took a few quick breaths, muttering, “You can do this, Pidge.” 

“Too right you can,” Coran said. Pidge looked up to see Coran hop down from the pilot’s chair and draw closer, holding a small box in his hand. “I have no doubt that you will do magnificently. But before we start, I wanted to give you this.”

He opened the box and took out a thin gold chain. An ivory carving hung delicately from the end. As Pidge looked closer, she couldn’t quite tell what animal it was supposed to represent. It looked like some kind of bird, but with so many stylistic flourishes that it resembled a particularly fancy phoenix. 

“What is it?” Pidge asked, taking the necklace and examining it closer. “Is it a royal symbol or something?” 

“No, you have that on your forehead,” Coran replied, tapping her diadem. “This is a tracker.” 

“A tracker?” 

“Very sophisticated Altean technology,” Coran said, with a quick wink that belied his serious tone. “It’s connected to the castle. Whenever the royal family visited places, we would give out charms like this in case of emergencies so that the castle could locate everyone. Since you’re without your suit for this trip, Allura and I wanted to take every precaution.”

“Oh,” Pidge said, still staring down at the tiny white bird. “It’s really pretty.” 

“Plus, Number Two told me that your name is based on a bird, so I thought that was a particularly suitable shape. It’s called a _kremlak_ , a very inquisitive scavenger bird.” 

Pidge made a face. “Wait— it’s an Altean pigeon?”

“Very fitting, I should think,” Coran said, his tone perfectly smooth, but she could see the glint of humor in his eyes. Pidge glared at him until he granted her a small grin. “ _Kremlaks_ are very small warriors, Number Five. You should be honored.” 

“You’re full of crap, Coran,” Pidge replied, rolling her eyes even as she smirked at his joke. She clipped the necklace around her neck and tucked it under the intricate lacing of her dress.

“I am the paradigm of dignity and respect, my good princess,” Coran protested. He gestured to the airlock with an elaborate flourish, already leaning heavily into his role as a royal advisor. Despite his exaggerated movements, Coran’s tone was solemn when he asked, “Are you ready?”

Pidge took a deep breath, turning to face the exit. She gave a sharp nod, bracing herself for the long evening to come. 

“Let’s go,” she replied. It sounded shaky to her ears, but Coran simply smiled at her and pressed the button to release the airlock. It opened with a loud hiss, slowly descending to the ground, and Pidge could suddenly hear a cacophony of noise from the planet outside.

It looked like the entire city had gathered just to greet the small Altean delegation. At first, all Pidge could see was waves of dark fur that stretched to cover the entire square, divided neatly down the center by a roped-off path. The Valpri were all pounding a fist on their chests, a strange gesture that Pidge quickly realized must be applause. Most were hunched down in a squatting position, using their remaining arm to balance against the ground, though many of the smaller Valpri were standing upright in excitement. 

 _They must be children_ , Pidge thought as she tried to mask her shock at the reception. She noted with a brief twinge of annoyance that most of them were still bigger than she was, with the exception of the littlest ones that were still carried on their parents’ backs.

“Princess,” Coran said from beside her in a strange, formal tone. “Perhaps you’d like to greet our hosts?” 

 _Oh, right_. Ten seconds in and she’d already forgotten her role. 

This was going to be a long night. 

Forcefully containing a wince at her oversight, Pidge waved to the crowd in her best imitation of a graceful royal greeting. The sound of chest-pounding applause grew louder and she felt the sudden urge to blush, overwhelmed by the realization that they were this excited to see _her_. 

Well, okay, not really. They were excited to see Princess Allura. But _still_.

Pidge waved more, smiling reflexively in response to the crowd’s mood.

Shiro and Lance approached their shuttle from opposite directions, both safely within the fenced off section that prevented the crowd from approaching too closely. At the request of the Valpri, they’d left their helmets in their Lions, so instead each of them wore sleek white communicators over their right ear. They marched with military precision, and Pidge was happy to note that Lance kept up with Shiro despite his errors during training. The Altean facing movements were a bit strange – hands held with pointed fingers rather than in fists; arms used for flourishes during turns rather than held by the side, and so on – but Shiro and Lance managed to make it work. They reached the base of the shuttle’s ramp and faced her, bowing deeply before making a sharp about-face and looking toward the crowd. 

“Your Highness,” Coran prompted once Shiro and Lance had turned, gesturing down the ramp.

Pidge proceeded down the ramp, eyeing the long path that cut through the Valpri crowd. According to Allura, it was customary for guests to present themselves to the rulers and request permission to visit their planet. For Pidge, it was going to be her first big test in the role of a princess. 

She passed by Shiro and tried hard to focus on his confident assurance that she would be fine rather than her distinct memories of getting straight C grades in Speech class. 

Pidge continued waving to the crowd as she passed through them, bracketed on either side by Lance and Shiro and trailed by Coran. At first glance, the Valpri all seemed very similar, but as Pidge looked closer, she noticed a fair amount of variation in their features. Dark brown fur was most common, but Valpri with copper and pitch-black coats were sprinkled throughout the crowd. As she continued to examine the crowd, Pidge realized that she couldn’t tell the difference between male and female Valpri at all. The biggest distinctions she could find were in their clothes and jewelry, but that seemed to signify class more than anything else.

They reached the end of the path entirely too soon for Pidge’s nerves. At the edge of the town square, a receiving area had been fenced off and was set up underneath a large, colorful canopy. Two groups of heavyset guards stared from either side of the set-up, clad in black and holding sturdy spears, but Pidge’s attention was drawn to the small group of Valpri underneath the canopy. They were all dressed in exceptionally fine, brightly colored robes, with golden jewelry glittering on their arms and legs. 

She was able to easily pick out the leader, Xra Kesmit. While he didn’t look too different from the rest of the Valpri, the sheer amount of shiny jewelry that lined his limbs set him apart from his attendants. He didn’t wear a crown, but around his neck he wore a large opal pendant set in a detailed golden frame. It appeared to nearly glow as it caught the light of the sun. 

Additionally, while every member of the royal party was respectfully standing rather than more comfortably crouched, Xra Kesmit was practically hopping from foot to foot with barely contained excitement. He was easily twice her size both in height and width, but his actions reminded her more of watching people waiting in line to buy a new video game or meet their favorite actor than anything else.

 _He’s nervous_ , Pidge realized. Xra Kesmit stared with rapt attention as she approached, like he was only just able to keep himself from running out to greet her He was a bit smaller than the rest of the royal group underneath the canopy, though certainly bigger than she was, and Pidge suspected he hadn’t quite reached adulthood.

 _He’s a teenage fanboy_ , she thought, almost wanting to laugh. Allura had mentioned that the Alteans were considered almost mythical to the Valpri, but Pidge hadn’t realized how big an impact that would have. Weirdly, the notion that Xra Kesmit was just a giddy fan of Altean culture made Pidge feel better about the whole mission. Forced diplomacy might not be her strong suit, but Pidge knew exactly what it was like to be an obsessive fan of things. 

Shiro, Lance, and Coran paused at the end of the path, leaving Pidge to approach the tented canopy alone. It was time for all her careful rehearsal with Allura to pay off. 

Pidge stepped forward until she stood only a few paces away from the canopy. Taking a deep breath, she fell into a graceful movement that Allura had called the _fralesh maneuver_ and Pidge privately referred to as the _fancy dance-curtsy_. It started with a set of twisting arm movements and followed a series of steps before ending with Pidge balanced on her toes while she bowed over one outstretched leg, her hands in a demure lock above her heart. 

According to Allura, this particular greeting had been abandoned nearly two hundred years before she was born due to it being an overly formal waste of time, but apparently the Valpri comic books about Alteans showed it being performed. Because of course they did.

Pidge managed to stand up in one smooth movement as she had practiced, though her base leg was shaking with the effort. She looked up at the royals gathered under the canopy and gestured grandly with both hands toward the group. 

“Greetings, friends,” Pidge said in her best imitation of Allura’s proper tones. It was the one part of the act about which she actually felt relatively confident. After five days of practice, even Allura said she had the mimicry down pat, even adapted through the translation software. Pidge had a smaller version of that same software in an adapter in her ear now, since she was without her paladin armor for this mission.

With a large smile, Pidge continued, “I am Princess Allura, scion of the Altean throne and commander of the Castle of Lions. In my entourage, I have brought my royal advisor Coran, and two of the heroic paladins of Voltron, Shiro of the Black Lion and Lance of the Blue Lion.” 

Pidge pulled her arms back to her sides and smiled directly at Xra Kesmit, who was nearly vibrating in excitement at her greeting. She placed a single hand over her heart and said, “I humbly request to make your acquaintance, Xra Kesmit, and enter the famed Valpri capital, where we might discuss our continued friendship.” 

Even Allura had rolled her eyes at the formal phrasing while she was writing the speech, but as Pidge stared at the royal Valpri, she got the distinct impression that the classical movements and phrasing had the desired effect. It was hard to tell with on the Valpri’s otter-like faces, but Pidge thought she could detect a hint of approval in their expressions.

Of course, Xra Kesmit was much easier to read.

“Greetings, Princess Allura of Altea!” Xra Kesmit replied, his voice deeper than Pidge had expected given his nearly childlike excitement. He had a golden wire attached to the side of his face that seemed to act as a microphone, given the way his voice echoed to the crowd behind him. Xra Kesmit tried to mimic some of her classic Altean gestures, but they did not flow as well with his large hands and bulky arms. Undeterred, he continued, “I am Xra Kesmit, son of Xra Klia and grandson of Xra Klentin, heir to the throne of Valpri. I happily welcome a fellow royal to our home.” 

The crowd behind them sounded loudly with resumed applause. Xra Kesmit let the jubilee continue for a long moment before he gestured for it to cease. As the noise tapered off, Xra Kesmit settled into a more subdued role, saying, “The Valpri people have long been outstanding traders and fantastic innovators, and today we mark an auspicious day in our history. It is a great honor for me to share the gifts and traditions of our proud people. The invitation to visit our capital hasn’t been extended to any outsider royals since the days of my great-great-grandmother, Xra Kiyet, and I am very proud to be able to share our culture with our Altean guests and the paladins of Voltron. This is a momentous opportunity to bring back this grand tradition, my brothers and sisters, and I am thrilled to be taking the step forward with all of you. _Sabot-therist!_ ” 

The translation software didn’t offer any translation for his concluding statement, but from the resounding applause that followed, Pidge could only assume it was a slogan of some sort. The crowd soon began to disperse, still murmuring with excitement. 

As if on cue, Coran stepped forward to stand beside her, while Shiro and Lance stood quietly behind them. No one said anything, too aware of the rapt attention from the Valpri royals and guards alike, but Pidge felt some of her anxiety melt away from their sheer proximity. 

The next few minutes were jam-packed full of introductions between their group and the other members of the royal family – Xra Kesmit’s aunt and uncle, both regents to the throne who watched his enthusiastic greetings with fondness in their eyes – as well as some of the royal advisors. Pidge could hardly keep track of all the names, and after the fifth such advisor passed by, she had given up on trying to remember any of them. The only one that stuck out was the head of security, a stone-faced giant named Valik. He towered over even Shiro by at least a foot and had an impressive coat of speckled brown fur.

Xra Kesmit rambled through the introductions at lightning speed, clenching his fists in clear excitement as he watched her reactions. It reminded her of her own experiences explaining some fascinating new technology or detailed code, and despite Xra Kesmit’s alien gestures and strange appearance, Pidge suspected they were pretty similar in at least one respect. 

“Princess, please come with me,” Xra Kesmit said once they had finally completed the necessary introductions all around. Newly unburdened by protocol, he very nearly stammered in his eagerness. “I’m so excited to show you our capital. It has stood as our proud capital for nearly five thousand years. Do you see the gate just ahead?” 

Pidge followed the line of his gesture to the massive wall that surrounded the inner city. It was double the height of the Black Lion and made of glittering purple stone. The gate itself was raised to allow for easy passage through the thick wall, leaving a gap in the barrier nearly large enough for the Castle of Lions to fit.

“It’s beautiful,” Pidge managed, staring with wide eyes at the enormous construction. “What kind of stone is that?”

“It’s made of common river stones called _xlaepi_ ,” Xra Kesmit said, clearly pleased by her approval. “It’s one of the strongest rocks we have on Valpri, and the most common. This is the first time in nearly two hundred years that we’ve opened the main gate, and it’s all due to your visit, Princess. The gate takes nearly a full day to open.” 

“How do you get back and forth normally?” Pidge asked. She followed Xra Kesmit as he started walking toward the gate. Coran was busy chatting with one of the Valpri royal advisors, but Shiro and Lance shadowed her steps. Their entire entourage was flanked on either side by Xra Kesmit’s security guards, who marched in neat formations led by Valik’s deputies. The head of security himself walked alongside Xra Kesmit, listening to their exchange with little reaction. 

“Oh, we have a number of number of smaller security posts for our lesser royals,” Xra Kesmit explained, though he waved off her interest with a light laugh. “But they are not grand enough for a person of your stature, Princess! Now, do you see the carvings on the sides of the security wall there? It’s an inscription of an ancient prayer of protection, much like the traditional Altean battle blessings. Isn’t it amazing how similar our cultures can be?” 

As Xra Kesmit continued his exaltations of the Valpri capital and Altean culture, Pidge focused on maintaining her princess mask. Shiro and Lance were trailing her as Coran mingled with the older royals. Somewhere in the mess, Pidge knew that Allura was sneaking through the crowd, having spent the last few hours shape-shifting into character.

As for Pidge, she could already feel her nerves returning despite her successful greeting. She thought back to Shiro’s words of encouragement. _I know you think you’re bad at being girly, but you are good at being sneaky_. 

She could do this.

As they reached the gate, Pidge stepped forward to follow Xra Kesmit. Eyes forward, she delicately raised the edge of her dress to keep it from grazing the ground, and promptly tripped over a raised ledge. 

A hand grabbed her elbow to keep her from falling, and Pidge looked up at Lance in embarrassment, memories of spilled puddings flashing through her mind. 

“Careful, Princess,” Lance said. His tone was earnest but his eyes were laughing.

Pidge glared at him for a split second before forcing a sweet smile. “You’re so kind, Lance. Thank you.” 

If anything, her response only seemed to amuse Lance more, but he managed to keep a straight face. She bit back a sigh, already imagining the _months_ of teasing this mission was going to bring. 

It was going to be a long night.

 

 

-

 

 

Shiro could not relax. 

He stood against a wall beside the table of honor, arms crossed and face impassive. The banquet was in full swing as cheery music played over the clamor of people eating and chatting. It was clearly a formal affair, with decorations ostentatious enough that Shiro was hard-pressed not to wince, though Lance hadn’t been able to resist a low whistle. Glittering lights hung from every surface in a kaleidoscope of colors, reflecting beautifully off shimmery silver tablecloths and golden dishes. 

The hall was arranged in the shape of an oval, with nine white pillars holding up the domed ceiling and encircling the lit banquet area. Shiro couldn’t tell what sort of stone had been used to construct the building, but every inch was decorated with elaborate raised stonework depicting historical scenes. 

Not that he could recognize the stories, of course. Xra Kesmit had pointed them out to Pidge in his enthusiasm to share more Valpri history. 

As it stood, they were nearly two hours into their ruse. As far as Shiro could tell, it was going off without a hitch, though he wasn’t sure how much longer Pidge could stand the attention. Despite a few small stumbles – sometimes literally – Pidge’s portrayal of an Altean princess seemed to convince the Valpri royals of her authenticity. This seemed especially true for Xra Kesmit, who kept eagerly trying to show off any Valpri accomplishments with the subtlety of a teenage boy trying to impress his middle school crush. Given how many other Valpri had lined up to greet the Altean Princess and ask her to sign their stories about the legendary land of Altea, Shiro suspected this admiration wasn’t limited to the leadership. 

While Pidge’s training had given her the basic skills she needed to pull off her role, it wasn’t enough to develop the same patience for diplomacy that Allura carried so well. By two hours in, Pidge was looking decidedly exhausted, though Xra Kesmit didn’t appear to have noticed. 

Despite their relative success, Shiro still couldn’t shake the anxious twinge in the back of his mind.

He scanned the room yet again, trying to see if he could place anything strange that would make him feel out of sorts. At least two hundred Valpri had been invited to the reception banquet, and each was decked out in fine, colorful robes and weighed down with countless pieces of jewelry. In contrast, security guards dressed in plain black uniforms lined the outside of the hall, watching for any sign of trouble. At least five guards stood directly behind the table of honor, along with the head of security Valik, who had not moved from his position by Xra Kesmit all night.

Coran had been making his rounds through the room all night, using his connections and experience to try and make inroads about the Voltron Alliance. Based on the few conversations Shiro had overheard, he doubted that Coran was going to have much luck; even though the finely dressed Valpri all expressed general thoughts of sympathy, they often downplayed the crimes of the Galra and spoke about Voltron like it was a story for children. 

Lance, on the other hand, was having much more success charming a table of younger Valpri through a series of exaggerated stories about Voltron battles. At least a few of them seemed captivated by the idea of changing the system, though Shiro suspected the rest were more interested in Lance’s flirting. 

Nothing was overtly amiss, but Shiro couldn’t quite shake the nagging worry that they were missing something. He had positioned himself by Pidge all night, not liking the way they were outnumbered or how they had been forced to leave their Lions outside the city. Every time he scanned the room, Shiro couldn’t see anything that struck him as outright alarming, but his creeping anxiety remained. 

 _You’re being irrational_ , Shiro thought, shaking his head slightly in an effort to clear his thoughts. The risk of being outnumbered on a new planet with dubiously allied aliens was making him nervous. He contemplating grabbing some food from the lavish buffet to take his mind off it, as he hadn’t bothered to eat yet, but based on Pidge’s barely concealed wince after taking her first bite he wasn’t missing much. 

Sighing, Shiro distracted himself as best he could. For the third time that night, he raised a hand to the portable communicator attached to his ear and pressed the transmit button. 

“Castle, status report please,” Shiro asked. 

The Valpri security hadn’t been happy about Shiro’s insistence on periodic status reports to the Castle of Lions, given their long history of privacy, but Coran had explained it away as a necessity for the paladins to maintain a solid connection between themselves and their Lions. Begrudgingly, Valik had allowed the communications devices for Shiro and Lance, though he verified the signals were only being sent to the Castle before approving them to enter the capital city. 

This had the benefit of being at least halfway true. The signals they sent and received were certainly routed through the Castle of Lions, where Keith and Hunk were listening on the bridge. However, the Valpri didn’t seem to realize the Castle was a relay point rather than the final destination. 

After a few moments, a reply came through his communicator. 

“Shiro, I’m a _little busy_ ,” Allura said, though she sounded more amused than anything. Given that she had been in an empty server room the last time he checked in, Shiro doubted she was in any immediate danger.

“Status report, please,” Shiro replied, resisting the urge to poke fun at her annoyance. From his table, Lance glanced over at Shiro and smirked, listening to the conversation as well. 

Allura sighed. “The translation program Pidge enhanced is working perfectly, but the files are organized in a strange manner, so I have to download each section individually. It’s taking longer than estimated, but I’m at about 75 percent completion.”

“Understood,” Shiro replied. “Any updates to our travel outlook?” 

“There’s no sign of any official Galra visits in the near future,” Allura replied, easily adapting to his code. They had worked out a general guide before departing the Castle, but Shiro still found it strange to use double-speak. Thanks to Pidge’s updates to their communications security after their encounter with Sendak, he was the only one who needed to guard his words, but it still felt strange. 

“Roger that,” Shiro replied. A brief outcry from Lance’s table drew his attention, but before Shiro could move, he saw Lance laughing and swiping a silver card from one of his tablemates. Based on the dismay on the cardholder’s face and the amused reaction from the others, Shiro suspected that Lance had just won a game of some kind. 

Shiro returned his attention to the royal table, where Xra Kesmit was still regaling Pidge with various stories of Valpri history and asking after similar tales from Altea. The rest of the royal party had dispersed to mingle and dance, leaving Pidge alone with Xra Kesmit and the ever-present Valik. 

Noting the increasingly tight smile on her face and restless tapping of her foot under the table, Shiro got the distinct impression that Pidge was near the end of her patience. From the way Lance kept looking over at the royal table, he had also noticed Pidge’s unspoken cry for help. He glanced at Shiro and raised an eyebrow, subtly asking _you wanna take this or should I?_

Giving Lance a nod of acknowledgment, Shiro pushed off the wall and began to make his way toward the royal table. 

“Actually, some of the reports I’ve been seeing are strange,” Allura continued in his ear as he moved.

“Quiznak,” Shiro replied, biting back a smile as he gave the code for _I’m listening but cannot reply_. The swear word had stuck as code after the younger paladins all insisted on it, mostly due to their amusement at Allura’s exasperation. As Shiro passed by his table, Lance looked up and shot him a thumb’s up, eyes glinting with amusement.

“Oh, honestly,” Allura muttered, though he could hear a fond note to her tone. She continued without further comment, “I’ve been scanning the internal news sites while waiting for the download. There are a lot of reports of unrest involving a group of Valpri called the DEXSAI. The reports are downplayed, but almost all of the attacks have been violent and directed at city residents. It’s been going on for nearly a year, but this is the first I’ve heard any mention of them.”

Shiro sat down beside Pidge as he listened to Allura, trying not to look like he was dividing his attention. “Princess,” he greeted Pidge, cutting off Xra Kesmit as he was about to launch into another story. 

Pidge turned, a brief look of relief flashing in her eyes, but before she could reply, a low voice from behind them interrupted. 

“That is Xrie Kloona’s seat, Black Paladin,” Valik said gruffly, his eyes narrowed. “The Altean delegation has been granted seats over there.” He gestured to Lance’s table, where the other paladin was busy taking another round of goofy pictures with his newfound friends. 

As Shiro turned to face the stony guard, Allura continued in his ear, “I’m going to look into this a little more. This sort of conflict is definitely something they should have mentioned to us, but it wasn’t in the security briefing they sent Coran at all.” 

Distracted, Shiro paused a little too long as he stared at Valik. The guard’s eyes lit with a flash of indignation, and he took a step toward Shiro, clearly intending to make his point in a physical manner. 

“Oh, no—” Pidge interrupted, holding a hand out. She looked almost comical in her alarm, youth clear on her face despite all the Altean makeup and sparkling jewelry. “I asked him to come over. Um. Well. I waved to him. A bit.” 

Valik paused as Xra Kesmit turned to look at them, clearly confused by the break in conversation. The guard took a step back, but kept suspicious eyes on Shiro. 

Pidge met Shiro’s eyes for a moment in panic before a solution dawned, and a second later Pidge turned to Xra Kesmit with a sweet smile firmly in place. “You were just talking about traditional Valpri weaponry, weren’t you? I was wondering if you had any pieces to show Shiro. Apparently, the home planet of our paladins has quite a collection as well.” 

Xra Kesmit lit up at the idea. “Of course, Princess! In fact, thank you for reminding me. We have something set out just for this occasion. Please, wait here, I’ll fetch it myself!” 

Without another word, Xra Kesmit rose from the table and lumbered to the side of the banquet hall, disappearing behind a curtained off section guarded by two guards. 

Valik remained motionless behind Pidge’s chair, cold eyes locked on Shiro. “You are still not permitted to sit in Xrie Kloona’s seat, Black Paladin.” 

Shiro locked eyes with him. He didn’t feel like getting in a fight, certainly not over something as inconsequential as a chair, but the familiar feeling of anxiety tugged anew in his mind. 

“Of course not,” Shiro said, managing a calm smile even as he puzzled over the exchange. Something didn’t feel right, but he couldn’t place what had thrown him off. Regardless, he stood up and faced Pidge. “How are you enjoying the banquet so far, Princess?” 

“Oh, it’s absolutely lovely,” Pidge lied through a perfect Altean accent. “I feel just like Bilbo Baggins at his eleventy-first birthday party.” 

The memory of watching Lord of the Rings with Matt on the way to Kerberos rang through his head, prompting Shiro to reply, “Well, here’s hoping you don’t find a ring.” 

Pidge grinned up at him, dazzlingly bright in comparison to her princess mask, and Shiro smirked back. 

Valik stared at both of them, uncomprehending, but Xra Kesmit returned before he could say anything else. He held out a delicate sheath made of gold and decorated with the same glittering purple stones that composed the massive wall surrounding the city. The hilt of the dagger within was made of the same material and a delicate golden chain was latched to its side. 

“I had this made especially for your visit, Princess,” Xra Kesmit said, holding the dagger out to Pidge hilt first. “It’s a traditional royal dagger, meant mostly for decoration, but it reminded me of a scene in the third book of our Altean novels on Valpri, where Queen Eria – your grandmother’s sister, I believe – fought back against the dark forces with nothing more than a table knife. It was such a fantastic scene, and I just thought something like this would have been a perfect weapon for her to have!”

Though Shiro could only stare in bemusement at Xra Kesmit’s boyish enthusiasm, Pidge was clearly used to the constant references to his Altean obsession. Smiling graciously, she accepted the dagger and removed its sheath to examine the blade.

“Oh,” Pidge said, blinking in surprise as she saw more glittering purple stone. “It’s a stone dagger.”

“Like I said, it’s very traditional. We use more sophisticated weapons now, but our _xlaepi_ daggers and swords are more durable than any laser gun,” said Xra Kesmit, clearly gearing up for another Valpri history lesson. “Here, let me show you how to wear it! It dates back to our early settlement of this basin, over a thousand years ago—” 

As Xra Kesmit awkwardly bent to latch the dagger around Pidge’s waist, she locked eyes with Shiro in a brief but very clear request to _please make this torture end_. Shiro shrugged at her, wracking his brains for a way to give Pidge a break without drawing undue attention. However, at just that moment, his communicator sounded in his ear. 

“Shiro, I found something, but I need you to get to a location you can talk,” Allura said, tone laced with concern. “It’s important.” 

The feeling of anxiety sprang up again in his spine, this time even more potent. 

“Oh, quiznack,” Shiro said. Wincing apologetically at Pidge, he said, “If you’ll excuse me, Princess, I need to make a status report to the castle.” 

The look of furious betrayal in her eyes would have been amusing if Shiro didn’t know he was going to pay for it later. He was pretty sure the Green Lion couldn’t grant the power to kill someone with a look, but he didn’t stick around to find out.

 

 

-

 

 

 _Traitor!_ Pidge thought, staring after Shiro as he turned away and headed toward a less crowded corner. Given his sudden attention to his earpiece, Allura had interrupted, but now Pidge was left alone _and_ uninformed about whatever news had caused him to suddenly run off. 

Ugh, she was never switching places with Allura again. Being the distraction was _the worst_. 

Unfortunately, she didn’t have any time to start plotting her revenge as Xra Kesmit kept messing with the dagger chain around her waist. Personal space apparently wasn’t a big thing on Valpri. He shuffled closer to her, trying to manipulate the delicate fittings, and Pidge fought back her discomfort with his proximity. 

Pidge looked determinedly over Xra Kesmit’s shoulders, hands clenched in fists at her side. She met Lance’s gaze as he looked over at her, distracted momentarily from his table of fans. Taking in the scene with a furrowed brow, Lance pointed two fingers at his eyes and then directed them toward her. He repeated the gesture and then mimed slicing a throat, waggling his eyebrows as if to offer his assassination services.

Pidge just barely stifled a laugh, pressing her lips together firmly to keep from grinning. She shook her head, but glanced down at Xra Kesmit’s continued fussing and subtly rolled her eyes. Lance winked back at her before he was dragged into another conversation with one of his newfound Valpri friends. 

As Pidge watched Lance’s easy chatting with envy, Xra Kesmit finally straightened to admire the look of the ceremonial dagger around her waist. 

“Perfect!” he said, grinning broadly at her. She smiled back on instinct, slipping back into her princess role. “Apologies for the wait, Princess. I had to tighten it, since you’re much smaller than I originally guessed. Based on the stories, I would have thought Alteans were as large as the Valpri!” 

“What do you mean?” Pidge asked, examining the gifted dagger that hung loosely around her waist. The golden hilt and sheath were laced with the same sort of intricate designs that decorated the banquet hall, albeit in a much smaller form, and Pidge examined the work with interest. The Valpri seemed to favor geometric designs that looked especially dazzling in the light. 

“Based on your famed strength, of course,” Xra Kesmit said, sitting back down at the table and nibbling on a handful of Valpri delicacies that – to Pidge – looked and tasted like over-salted snails. “And even if our records of Alteans aren’t entirely correct, everyone has heard of your miracle on the Balmera.” 

“Really?” Pidge replied. “The story of the Balmera has already made it out here? But your star system is halfway across the universe.” 

A thread of worry clenched at her heart; if any pictures had been taken during that mission, it would be incredibly easy to tell what the _real_ Princess Allura looked like. But Xra Kesmit didn’t look accusatory. 

“Oh, _yes_ ,” he gushed, his eyes lit with excitement. Even Valik seemed interested in this turn of conversation, given how he broke his frozen posture to look directly at them. “I’m sure we don’t have all the details, but the Balmerans you rescued were adamant in singing your praises, Princess Allura. From what we’ve heard, you saved the entire planet with Altean magic.” 

“Well – um – yes, I suppose so,” Pidge said as she wracked her brain for memories of the Balmera mission. She remembered it, of course – it was way too intense to ever forget – but there had been so many missions since then, and she had been mostly focused on fighting a giant monster. Allura’s role had been a bit bigger. Recalling Coran’s fury at the entire scene, Pidge added, “I was very happy that we were able to help them. It’s a great crime to hurt a Balmera.” 

“I had no idea such powerful magic existed,” Xra Kesmit continued, oblivious to her dissembling. “Alteans are legendary for their magic healing powers, but no one could imagine the extent of it until we heard the story. Is it really true? Did you _actually_ heal an entire planet?” 

Part of Pidge wanted to be offended at his doubt for Allura’s sake, but by the look on Xra Kesmit’s face, he was fully ready to believe it. 

“Yes, it is true,” Pidge said, remembering the way the Balmera had glowed with Allura’s healing light and the gentle rush that swept across the planet. Xra Kesmit kept staring at her, eager for more information, and Pidge scrambled to add, “It took a lot of strength, of course, but Altean magic is known for its durability. I was certainly exhausted afterwards—” 

“How does it work?” 

This question came not from Xra Kesmit, but from Valik, who was staring at her with a narrow-eyed intensity that immediately put Pidge on edge. 

“Valik!” snapped Xra Kesmit, shooting the guard a cold look. Valik straightened at the admonishment, but didn’t back away. Xra Kesmit turned back to Pidge and said with sincerity, “My apologies, Princess. The lesser classes should know they aren’t permitted to interrupt a royal.” 

Pidge blinked, taken aback by Xra Kesmit’s imperious tone. When she glanced at Valik, his face had regained its stony mask, but something about the way he held himself suggested more annoyance than compliance. 

“That’s… okay,” she managed, trying to fight her instinctive bristling against superior attitudes and keep a straight face. She doubted Allura would like that any more than she did, but Allura would probably have some graceful way of correcting him. Pidge just felt lost. 

Trying to adopt a more diplomatic, Allura-like tone, she said, “On Altea, we don’t generally insist on such – um – strict class divides. It’s quite all right to ask questions.” 

“Perhaps on Altea that was true,” Xra Kesmit said, making an unfamiliar gesture that felt vaguely patronizing. “But on Valpri, servants should know their place.” 

The weighted pause that followed his statement made Pidge feel like she had stepped on a landmine. She glanced awkwardly at Valik, who stood as still as a statue, casting a thousand-yard stare at some point across the banquet hall. The guards that lined the walls behind them were equally silent, though they were definitely close enough to have heard the conversation. 

Around them, music played while the guests danced and chattered, but Xra Kesmit’s comments had cast a black light on the lavish spectacle of it all. Pidge felt disturbingly like Marie Antoinette. 

“Regardless,” Xra Kesmit continued, oblivious to her discomfort, “it _was_ a good question, I will grant that. How _does_ Altean magic work?” 

“Uh—” Pidge began, scrambling for an answer as she realized that she had _no idea_. Trying to buy some time, she asked, “What do you mean?” 

“Where does the energy come from?” Xra Kesmit asked, his previous eager interest washing the snobby tone from his voice. “Do you generate it yourself, or do you have to pull from another source? Does it work both ways?”

Still wracking her brains for an answer, Pidge haltingly began, “W-well—” 

Mistaking her hesitation for criticism, Xra Kesmit said, “Oh, I hope my interest isn’t considered rude, Princess. These are honestly just questions that many Valpri have asked! Fans of the Altean novels have debated the nature of Altean magic many times, but this is our first opportunity to get the answer from a real Altean.” 

His eyes were bright with interest, waiting with baited breath for an answer. Even Valik seemed to have recovered from his earlier mistake and was watching her with sharp eyes.

“Um—” Pidge began, trying to piece together a plausible answer from her scattered memories of Allura and Coran discussing Altean magic. She had always been more interested in Altean _technology_ , really, but even the brief explanations she’d received about quintessence were frustratingly vague.

Finally, Pidge opted to just wing it. 

“It’s powered by our quintessence,” Pidge answered, trying to mimic the scholarly tone Allura always used when she was teaching them about various alien concepts. “The royal line of Altea has the unique ability to align our quintessence with a planet and guide it toward healing.” Then, remembering Allura’s long recovery, Pidge added, “It does take a lot of energy, though.” 

“That’s amazing,” Xra Kesmit said. “And does it work both ways?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, can you take away energy too?” he elaborated. “It’s a question that people have been arguing about for years, since we read the story of King Teran and the rebels. He threatened to destroy their farmland, but the story didn’t clarify if he meant to do it with magic or other means, so it’s been a big point for debate. Do you know the story of King Teran? I mean – of course you do, obviously, he was your great-grandfather, but – do you know the story I’m talking about?” 

Pidge did, in fact, recall reading about King Teran stopping a revolt in the very long packet of Altean history that Coran provided. However, her main memory of comparing the actual history with the translated Valpri novels was that the Valpri really loved adding unnecessary drama to _everything_. 

Still, as far as Pidge could remember, even the official history hadn’t said anything about how King Teran planned to execute his threats. The nebulous Altean magic was too murky a subject for Pidge to even hypothesize about. She didn’t want to lie, but Xra Kesmit was waiting for an answer and she had to say _something._  

In the back of her mind, she heard Coran’s voice whisper, _make it up! Sometimes you have to adapt._

“Of course I know the story,” she replied, a false smile gracing her lips again. “The Altean history isn’t clear how King Teran planned to attack, but he could have used magic to destroy the farmland if needed. Altean magic is very powerful, after all.”

If her lies ever reached the Galra, at least they’d be intimidating. 

Xra Kesmit looked thrilled at her revelation, giving Pidge the distinct impression that she had just enabled him to win a number of debates in the future. She glanced up at Valik, hoping that she’d answered his question, but his previous intensity hadn’t faded away. If anything, he was staring at her more fiercely than ever. 

“That is incredible!” Xra Kesmit said. He continued on, “I can hardly imagine what it must have been like to harness such an ability! Of course, on Valpri, our innovations have always been technology-related. We don’t manipulate quintessence in the same way, but the _xlaepi_ wall that guards our city from the outside wilds is truly stronger than any other force I’ve ever seen—” 

Pidge resisted the urge to sigh, recognizing the switch to bragging about Valpri achievements yet again. She was grateful that it kept her from having to lie anymore, but the familiar topic just reminded her how long this mission had already lasted. With any luck, Allura would finish soon and they could leave without any hiccups. 

“—and we have made some vast improvements on borrowed technology from other planets, so the Valpri versions are top of the line—” Xra Kesmit continued, oblivious her exhaustion. 

The end of the evening couldn’t arrive soon enough.

 

 

-

 

 

The banquet hall was so packed that it took Shiro nearly five minutes to find a quiet place to talk, and even then he had to duck outside. 

The sky had darkened to blood orange as the sun dipped lower in the sky, with only a few wispy clouds to tarnish the view. There were three entrances to the hall, each guarded by a single black-clad Valpri, but Shiro was one of the few guests that opted for the main street rather than the lavishly decorated courtyard in the back. 

Making sure to stay out of earshot of the guards, Shiro tapped his communicator on once again. “Okay, Castle, I’m clear to speak.” 

“We need to leave,” Allura commanded. From her hurried whisper, Shiro guessed she had left the security of the server room. “I found a report about the situation on Valpri. There’s an active rebellion here, Shiro. A group of Valpri in the country have been fighting a war against the royal class for over a year.” 

“What?” Shiro asked, alarmed. “And they didn’t think to _mention_ that?” 

“The reason the _metzri-pat_ took so long was apparently due to security concerns,” Allura replied, echoing his annoyed tone. “Not for us, but the city. The rebels are from the mountains, so the gate that surrounds the city is the main defense. This sort of gala is a prime target for an attack. I don’t know how this sort of thing could get approved—”

“I have an idea,” Shiro muttered, thinking about Xra Kesmit’s obsession with Altea. A boy king with a strong will would be a hard thing to overcome in an absolute monarchy like the Valpri. “Did you see anything indicating an attack tonight?” 

“No, but in an atmosphere like this, the _lack_ of any threats can be just as telling,” Allura said. “I’ve got the information we need and am heading back to the Lions now. Try not to make a scene, but you need to leave as soon as possible. I don’t want to risk anymore time here.” 

“Roger that. Over and out,” Shiro said, already turning back to the main entrance. 

Before he could take more than a few steps, he ran into Lance. 

“Were you listening?” Shiro asked, reading the concern on Lance’s face. “We need to leave—” 

“Yeah, but I wanted to show you something,” Lance said, holding out his phone. The screen showed a collection of various selfies that Lance had captured with the other Valpri teenagers. When Shiro made an exasperated face, Lance cut him off. “No, no, it’s not just the pictures. Look in the background!”

As Lance flipped through the photos, Shiro scanned the scene behind the forefront shots of Lance with various Valpri. It showed the black-clad security guards lined thickly along various different walls of the banquet hall. As the pictures moved forward in time, the number of guards grew fewer and fewer.

“I started to notice it about halfway through the banquet, but it clicked when Allura mentioned the war,” Lance narrated as he showed Shiro the pictures. “See? In the beginning, there’s a ton of guards, but by the end—” 

“There aren’t any,” Shiro said. His eyes snapped over to the entrance to the banquet hall, where three Valpri guards had been stationed just minutes before. 

No one was there. 

His creeping anxiety twisted into full-blown dread. 

“We have to go,” Shiro commanded. “The guards are in on it.” 

Lance nodded sharply, already turning back to the hall. “I’ll get Coran. You get Pidge!” 

Without waiting for confirmation, Shiro ran to the entrance closest to the royal table. He saw Pidge still sitting beside Xra Kesmit, looking tired and alarmingly small beside the large Valpri. Xra Kesmit seemed to be in the middle of telling yet another grandiose story, his attention entirely on Pidge, who had managed to maintain her polite princess mask. 

For a brief moment, Shiro felt a flash of relief, before his eyes locked on Valik and the rest of the royal guards standing watch behind them. 

 _The guards are in on it_. 

In that moment before disaster, Shiro abruptly realized what had made him so unnerved before. He had almost certainly noticed the slow trickling down of the guards, even just subconsciously, but the real tipping point had happened right in front of him.

Valik hadn’t left Xra Kesmit’s side all evening, the picture of a perfect bodyguard. Shiro had assumed it was Valpri policy to maintain constant security, just like on Earth. Given how often the Valpri emphasized the importance of royalty, it only made sense that they were protective. 

But when Xra Kesmit left to retrieve his gift for Princess Allura, Valik had stayed behind. And as Shiro locked eyes on Valik, he suddenly realized why. 

Valik wasn’t really guarding Xra Kesmit. 

He was guarding _Pidge_. 

Just as Shiro made that connection, he dashed forward, but it was too late. 

A loud _bang_ exploded through the room, and Shiro staggered, just barely catching himself on the far wall. Dust flew through the air as people screamed, and Shiro looked over to see the far wall collapsed into a pile of rubble. The room spun as he started coughing, debris catching in his throat, and some small part of him thought, _Lance and Coran are over there_. Memories of other attacks flashed through his mind, threatening to overwhelm his senses, but a new voice cut through the growing shock. 

“SHIRO!” screamed Pidge, catching his ear even through the din. Shiro turned to see her struggling in Valik’s grasp, his thick arm pinning her against his torso. Xra Kesmit was slumped motionless on the table beside them. As Shiro watched, another guard threw a bag over Pidge’s head, muffling her cries. 

“PIDGE!” Shiro shouted, his arm whirring to life as he leapt forward—

Another blast exploded by his face—

— _fire and stone burning around him_ — 

—and the world went black.

 

 

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Actual footage of Lance seeing Princess!Pidge for the first time: [[link](https://media.tenor.com/images/e06d5efb303be0b68c4328c425d29c06/tenor.gif)]
> 
> Also, if anyone is curious: here are some reference photos for Pidge's [hair](https://yreu4kinnx-flywheel.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/How-to-Wear-a-Bob-for-your-Wedding-Bridal-Bobs-Bridal-Musings-Wedding-Blog-25.jpg) and her [dress](https://i.pinimg.com/736x/9c/aa/d0/9caad054f075c9443543d6a6eb4e8b9c--emerald-prom-dress-emerald-bridesmaid-dresses.jpg). They obviously aren't exact (her dress is much more bejeweled and lacy), but that should give you the general idea I was working toward.
> 
> I hope everyone liked the introduction to the Valpri and Xra Kesmit's status as Fanboy #1. :P Not to mention Pidge's increasingly poor attempts to mimic Allura's diplomacy. For those unaware, Pidge's Bilbo Baggins/Lord of the Rings reference refers to the time Biblo Baggins essentially said, "Fuck y'all, I'm out" and used a magic ring to turn invisible and escape from his own birthday party. Like a goddamn champion. :P
> 
> In any case, I think this was the longest chapter, and sorry (not sorry) for the cliffhanger, folks. The next couple chapters are where the action goes full throttle :P I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter! Please let me know in comments, I love to hear people's thoughts! :)


	3. Chapter 3

 

 

 

 

 

 

The world returned in a blur of pain.

For a few seconds, the only thing Shiro could comprehend was the ache that radiated throughout his body. It felt like he was being crushed against the ground, sharp points of pain keeping him pinned. Forcing his eyes open, he couldn’t see anything but darkness, the world around him gray and hazy with dust. 

“—ro! _Shiro!_ ” 

A voice cut through the ringing in his ears. Part of him wanted to respond, but the impulse was like hearing a quiet whisper in the wake of a hurricane. 

Everything hurt.

_What happened?_

Even as the thought crossed his mind, Shiro was hit with sudden recollection. 

_The guards—the bomb—Pidge—!_

It was like a blast of icy water to the face. Shiro’s eyes snapped awake, entire body tensing from the memory. Above him, the pressure against his back shifted. He tried to move away from it, but his legs were completely pinned and his metal arm was trapped beneath his torso. 

“Shiro!” the voice shouted above him, closer but desperate. The pressure against his back moved again, but it felt more deliberate. “Shiro, I’m here, please respond!”

Shiro could hardly breathe from the weight, much less reply, but he groaned as he tried to maneuver under the rubble. The pressure was gradually getting lighter.

Suddenly the air in front of his face was clear, and Shiro could make out the blurry image of Lance above him. He was bleeding from a cut on his forehead and looked rather ragged, but his face broke into a relieved grin as he locked eyes with Shiro. “Oh, thank god, you’re okay. Well—okay, not _really_ , but you’re awake, so that’s something. I’m getting you out, just hold tight!” 

Lance busied himself clearing more of the heavy weight from Shiro’s back. Now that the lighting was better, Shiro could see that he was held down by rubble from the wall of the banquet hall. Lance quickly removed the heaviest blocks from Shiro’s back, giving Shiro enough room to pull his metal arm from its pinned position and prop himself up slightly.

Shiro stared through dusty air at what remained of the opulent banquet hall. Two of the walls near the entrance were almost completely collapsed, along with one of the nine pillars. The remainder of the hall was still standing, but large patches of sky could be seen through partially collapsed walls, having faded from orange to the dark pink of a waning sunset. The rest of the banquet hall was dimly lit by a lone remaining beam of light from the front of the hall, which looked relatively untouched in the wake of destruction. 

Valpri were running all around the damaged area, helping retrieve injured party guests and clearing away the rubble. Cries of pain and panic echoed through the devastation. An entire group of Valpri clustered around the former table of honor, encircling an injured Xra Kesmit. As Shiro stared, a flash of memory hit him like a brick. 

_Pidge screaming his name, struggling against an unyielding grip—_  

“Pidge!” Shiro said, coughing as dust in the air caught in his throat. The word came out like a croak. “Lance, did you—?” 

“I haven’t seen her,” Lance replied, voice tight. He was working on clearing out the rubble by Shiro’s legs. “Coran was hit pretty hard, but he’s with the Valpri now. Are you hurt? I mean, you were buried, of course you’re hurt, but—” 

“No—,” Shiro began as Lance moved the last big chunk of stone off Shiro’s legs. 

“Oh, good, then we can—” 

“No!” Shiro cut him off. Lance bent to help him sit up, as Shiro continued, “No, I mean—they took her! I saw the guards grab her before the explosion.” 

Lance froze, staring at Shiro with dawning horror. 

“They _what_?” he asked, eyes wide. 

“The head of security, Valik,” Shiro said before breaking into another series of coughs from the dusty air. He struggled to his feet with Lance’s assistance, feeling the same panic from before the attack swelling in his heart. “He grabbed her—I saw them put a bag over her head! We have to go after them—!” 

He wanted to talk strategy and take charge, the desire to help spinning through his thoughts, but Shiro was caught up by a tight, burning fear in his chest. It snatched at his throat, arresting the simple act of breathing as the image of Pidge screaming his name played over and over again in a loop. The memory was impossibly clear: the shimmer of forest green satin, the contrast of dark fur against her copper hair, the shining diadem on Pidge’s forehead she struggled under Valik’s massive grip— 

Shiro couldn’t breath. He looked at Lance but couldn’t focus on him, lost in his own panic. Without warning, the image of Pidge flipped, and suddenly Shiro pictured Matt, lying injured on the ground before him. The world tunneled into a blur of purple and gray, the cacophony of fans screaming for _Champion!_ echoing in his ears. He gasped for air, throat swollen around the dust and fear— 

“Shiro! _Shiro!_ ”

A sudden burst of pain pressed into his hand and Shiro focused on it, still trying desperately to regain his breath. He blinked a few times, trying to shake the dual images of Pidge and Matt from his eyes, and concentrated on the sharp pinch in his palm. 

After a few moments, the image cleared and Lance was again standing in front of him. He held Shiro’s left hand in his grip, pressing his thumbs deeply into the meat of Shiro’s palm. The pain didn’t abate, though with his sudden clarity Shiro found himself able to draw in a shaky gasp of air. 

“—don’t have time, Shiro, I’m sorry, but we have to _go_ —” 

Shiro stared blankly at Lance, panic still buzzing in his ears. He took a deep breath, then another, and pulled his hand away from Lance’s grip. The sharp pain faded, but Shiro’s head remained tentatively clear. 

“Are you back?” Lance asked. His blue eyes were wide with uncertain worry. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to hurt you, but my communicator is broken and we don’t have any time—” 

“No, it’s— it’s okay, I’m back,” Shiro said, hating the disoriented feeling in his gut. “I just— it’s okay.” 

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Lance asked, examining him with a critical eye. “Not just the—uh—memory thing, but— you have some cuts and bruises, but what about broken bones? Anything else?” 

Shiro took a moment to check himself over, brushing loose rubble from his armor and noting a couple areas of torn, bloody fabric. He felt like a giant bruise, but nothing stood out sharply. His communicator was hanging loosely by his ear, and when Shiro pulled it off, he saw half-crushed white plastic smeared with streaks of blood. 

He looked over at the pile of rubble where Lance had dug him free. By pure chance, he’d caught the far end of the explosion. Closer to the entrance, he could see Valpri digging out the limp, bloody bodies of their peers. It was all too easy to imagine being one of those victims. 

Shiro didn’t know how many times he’d narrowly evaded certain death, but he couldn’t quite stop the quiet voice in his head that wondered _how many times do I have left?_  

“My comms are busted too,” Shiro reported, shaking off his dark thoughts as the full weight of their helplessness sank onto his shoulders. “We need to grab Coran and get back to our Lions. I don’t know if Allura knows what happened, but we need Hunk and Keith down here ASAP. We have to find—” 

He paused, looking around the ruin of the banquet hall with the sudden, sinking realization that he had _no idea_ where Valik would take Pidge. 

Lance read his expression and looked over at the royal table with a narrow-eyed frown. “Let’s go talk to the Valpri,” he suggested, tone darker than usual. “Maybe _this time_ they’ll actually be honest.”

Lance taking the lead, they marched over to the royal table. Xra Kesmit was sitting at the table, bandages covering half his forehead as he stared bleakly down at an object in his hands. Beside him, an equally bejeweled older Valpri fussed over him with clear concern as the rest of his court conferred. 

Shiro frowned as he realized the object in Xra Kesmit’s hand was the Altean diadem that Pidge had been wearing. 

Hot rage blooming in his chest, Shiro charged ahead of Lance and slammed his metal fist down on the stone table. It cracked under the assault, drawing the immediate attention of every Valpri in the vicinity. 

“ _Where_ is she?” Shiro asked coldly, glaring at Xra Kesmit. 

The young Valpri stared at him with wide black eyes.

“I—I don’t know,” Xra Kesmit replied. “I woke up, and she was _gone_ —” 

“Your guards betrayed you,” Shiro snapped. “I saw Valik grab her. And I definitely don’t see any of them now, so where the hell would they take her?”

Xra Kesmit gaped at him for a brief moment, clearly lost for words, and glanced around wildly for assistance. The older Valpri who had been caring for him glared at Shiro. Her voice filled with regal indignation, she replied, “Xra Kesmit has been injured and will _not_ be spoken to like that—” 

“Shut up,” Shiro commanded sharply. The expression on his face must have made his threat clear, because she quickly drew back. “You _lied_ to us about the safety of your planet and now Pi—” Shiro caught himself just in time, correcting, “Princess Allura is missing and our team is caught in the middle of _your_ civil war. So you _will_ tell us what we want to know, or I promise you that Voltron will make what happened to your banquet hall look like a _joke_.” 

Lance shifted uncomfortably next to him, and Shiro’s hot anger abated just enough for him to realize that he was using Voltron as a threat against its very purpose. Still, Lance said nothing, and Shiro wasn’t about to back down, tension burning in the air between them and the Valpri. 

Before either side could continue, another voice broke through the confrontation.

“Xrie Kloona,” Coran said, addressing the older Valpri as he limped up to the royal table. His head and arm had been hastily bandaged and Shiro could see smears of blood on his clothes, but he seemed relatively stable. He glanced at Shiro, a subtle but clear instruction to _stand down_ in his eyes, and then faced the Valpri once again. “I understand that we have all been through a big shock, but our Princess is missing. You must understand how alarming that is.” 

Presented with a more familiar face, Xrie Kloona relaxed and stared back with a devastated expression. “My royal husband is gravely injured, and we have at least twenty dead. There are reports of simultaneous attacks all throughout the city. I promise you, we did not expect anything like this, certainly not from our own guards. I’ve known Valik since he was a child!” 

“Why would he take Pi—Princess Allura?” Lance asked. “Wouldn’t it make more sense to kidnap your leader?” Then, realizing how that might sound, he awkwardly added, “Uh—no offense, Xra Kesmit.” 

“No, I understand what you mean,” Xra Kesmit said, still staring sadly at Pidge’s diadem. “It wouldn’t do them any good to kidnap me. I have ten brothers and sisters, and we’re all trained to lead.” 

“The royal line has dealt with various rebellions over the past century,” Xrie Kloona explained. “We have a strict policy against negotiating with kidnappers, even if our Xra is the one under threat. The DEXSAI know that. They’re a rebel group that the kingdom has been fighting for over a year. They live in the mountains, hiding among the villages and inciting other peaceful Valpri to riot against us. It’s likely they are behind these attacks, though I had no idea they had grown this strong.”

“But why would they take Princess Allura?” Coran asked, worry clear in his voice. “We didn’t even know about the conflict.” 

“I wish I knew!” Xra Kesmit cried out, eyes wide as he stared at Coran. “I never wanted her to get hurt! I just—I just wanted to meet her, so I could ask about Altea and show her how much we admired your culture…” 

He trailed off, eyes downcast as he clearly fought against overwhelming feelings. Shiro’s anger felt slightly muted as he stared at the boy king. Even though Xra Kesmit was nearly a match in size with the adult Valpri who surrounded him, his youth was obvious in his helpless tone. 

“The DEXSAI forces have a few bases throughout the mountains,” Xrie Kloona answered more helpfully. “They move them regularly, but we can provide a map of our current intelligence.” 

“ _If_ they’ve left the city,” Shiro pointed out, raising an eyebrow at her. 

“They most certainly have,” Xrie Kloona replied. “The mountains are their strong hold. They wouldn’t risk being trapped inside the gates. We know they also sometimes use a series of ancient tunnels beneath the river. We have a full map of those, but the complex is vast. Unless we can figure out where they entered, it would be nearly impossible to determine the exit point.” 

“Right,” Shiro said. He looked over at Coran and Lance. “We have to get to the Lions and let them know what’s happened. The longer we wait, the harder it’ll be to pick up the search.” 

“I gave Princess Allura a tracker before we landed,” Coran informed him. Shiro glanced at Lance in surprise, a sudden burst of hope blooming in his heart. “It’s activated by the castle, so we should be able to narrow down our starting point.”

“Excellent,” Shiro said. He turned back to Xrie Kloona, “If you want to help, send us all the information you have on the mountains and the DEXSAI. Coran will go back to the Castle of Lions to direct us, but we need to bring the other Paladins of Voltron to help search. Unless you have an issue with that?” 

He offered his final question with a narrow-eyed stare, daring them to take issue with his directive. Xrie Kloona looked hesitant, but before she could reply, Xra Kesmit wholeheartedly agreed, “Whatever you need! Please, bring the Princess back safely.” 

The desperate hope in his voice was enough to slake more of Shiro’s rage toward the Valpri. Young and foolish Xra Kesmit might be, but he certainly wasn’t uncaring. 

Shiro turned back to Coran and Lance. They were bruised and covered in dust from the explosion, but the determination in their eyes matched his own.

“Let’s go,” Shiro commanded, and they were off without another word.

 

 

-

 

 

At some point in the last half hour, Pidge had sailed past scared and was solidly locked in a bizarre stage of numb terror. 

The bag around her face smelled like vinegar, which made her stomach twist unpleasantly as the carriage bumped along uneven ground. Not that she could see any of it. She’d been shoved facedown into a small box that pressed against her bound arms on both sides. Above her, she could occasionally hear muffled murmurs from the group that took her. 

Even thinking about it made panic start to crawl up her throat. 

“Okay, Pidge, you got this, it’s fine,” she murmured, not believing the words even as she spoke. But her voice gave her something to focus on, something to distract from the darkness and discomfort and disorienting smell of vinegar everywhere. 

The vehicle jolted as it hit a particularly bad patch of road, and Pidge felt her stomach roil and threaten to send her food back up. She swallowed against the urge, eyes clenched shut; if she brought anything up, she’d be facedown in her own vomit until they bothered to free her.

_At least I’m not claustrophobic_ , she thought, trying to find something positive to focus on. There weren’t many options. 

When the banquet hall exploded, Pidge’s first instinct had been to go for her bayard, momentarily forgetting that she was in costume. She didn’t realize Xra Kesmit had been attacked until he collapsed next to her, and the next second she was hauled up and pinned down by the guards. It happened so quickly she barely had time to scream. With explosions all around, she suspected no one heard her anyway. 

The others might not know she’d been kidnapped. 

They might not even be alive. 

Panic curled in her chest and Pidge took a few short, deliberate breaths to try and quell the fear. Shiro had survived way worse than a couple bombs. And she’d been there when Lance and Coran were nearly blown up at the castle. They’d both made it through okay, though the memory of Lance’s broken body didn’t do much to ease her worries. 

Still, they were fighters. Paladins. They’d survive. Shiro and Lance didn’t have their helmets, but they did have their armor, and Coran was a lot tougher than he looked. They’d be fine. She had to believe that. 

_No one will ever find me if the others are dead_. 

The thought snuck unbidden through her mind, and Pidge fought the terror down. 

“Stop,” she whispered, feeling fear trickle down her spine. “Stop, this isn’t helping _anything_. Come on, Pidge, _focus_.” 

Buoyed by her words, Pidge took a deep breath and tried to push her emotions away. This wasn’t the time for emotional freak-outs. It was the time for facts. 

What did she know?

One: the Valpri guards had taken her. Even if she hadn’t recognized Valik, his group was the only one close enough to have grabbed her. So that meant some kind of internal conflict, unless the entire evening had been nothing more than an elaborate ruse. She thought that was fairly unlikely, because:

Two: they attacked Xra Kesmit. She hadn’t seen or heard him since, so she didn’t know if he had been kidnapped too, but it was possible. 

Three: she had seen one explosion and heard at least two more. Terrorist attacks and kidnappings didn’t always go together, so the bombs might have been designed to be a distraction to cover up the kidnapping. Or the attackers wanted to get a two-for-one deal out of the strike. Either way, Pidge knew they had to be related. Valik had moved too quickly for him not to know about the bombs. 

Four: they’d shoved her in a long, tight box in some kind of vehicle. Based on the muffled voices above her and the way every bump outside rattled the box frame, Pidge guessed she was in a hidden compartment under the seats. They kidnapped her publicly but still had to smuggle her away for transport, which suggested that the other city guards weren’t necessarily in on the plot. 

Five: they’d been driving for nearly 20 minutes. At first, there had been a lot of starts and stops, and Pidge occasionally heard new voices. Checkpoints in the city, she assumed. She vaguely remembered Xra Kesmit explaining something about that during their initial walk to the banquet hall. But for the past ten minutes, their pace was undisturbed and the ground beneath them had grown bumpy and unpredictable. The roads in the city were all paved smooth. Which likely meant— 

Pidge paused as she stumbled upon the last revelation, her mind flashing through memories of staring at the vast mountains surrounding the city as they flew in.

She had been taken out of the city. 

Panic threatened to overwhelm her again, struck by the bleak reality of her situation, but Pidge forced it down. Fear didn’t help anything. Worrying about the worse case scenario wouldn’t fix things. She had been kidnapped. She was trapped in a tiny box, hands tied behind her back and bag over her head, heading into the mountains surrounding an alien city. Those were facts. She didn’t know _why_ it was happening, and that rankled her, but knowing why she was kidnapped wouldn’t help her escape. Keeping calm and staying smart just might. 

Without warning, the vehicle jerked sharply on a bump, making Pidge bash her chin on the hard floor. A burst of copper pain exploded in her mouth, and Pidge winced as she realized she’d bitten her tongue. The throbbing only served to remind her of other pains in her body: the ache in her shoulders from being bound, the sharp slice of ropes around her numb hands, the jabbing pressure against her right side— 

Wait. 

Pidge did her best to move onto her left side. The side of the box only let her shift part of the way, but she reached her goal: the pressure in her side abated. She twisted around a bit more and felt the shift of an object against her hip. 

It was the stone dagger. They hadn’t taken it away from her. 

A tiny bit of hope rang through her heart. She wasn’t _completely_ defenseless. 

The much darker part of her mind reminded her that even fighting a Valpri with her bayard and full armor would probably be a losing battle, but Pidge clung to the hope anyway. Even if they’d ignored it because it was too small to matter, at least a dagger was _something_. That’s more than she had before. She just had to wait and use it at the right time. 

_Patience yields focus_ , a voice whispered in her head. Shiro liked to say that during training when she got frustrated, and part of her wondered if he’d heard it from her dad. It sounded like something he’d say, but Pidge had never been able to bring herself to ask. The thought of both of them made her heart clench with despair. She couldn’t be sure either one was still alive. 

“Patience yields focus,” she repeated, trying to bolster her own resolve. “You can do this. Patience yields—” 

The vehicle jerked to a halt and her breath caught in her throat. Pidge froze, waiting in terrified anticipation. Above her, the Valpri were moving, slamming doors open and banging heavy boots against the floor. New voices shouted in the distance, but it didn’t sound alarmed so much as emphatic— 

Her compartment was suddenly pulled open, and two large hands yanked her up, unceremoniously pulling her from the box. They set her on the ground, standing on unsteady legs, and someone sliced the rope around her wrists. In the next second, the bag was ripped from her head, and Pidge found herself standing on a beaten mountain trial, surrounded by a large group of unfamiliar Valpri. 

The twilight magenta sky was edging quickly into night, but half of the group carried portable torches that gave Pidge enough light to see. In comparison to the city fashion, these Valpri were dressed plainly, with no glittering jewelry in sight. Some of them held automatic weapons of some kind, but most were armed with a variety of stone clubs or swords. In the torchlight, their faces cast dark shadows, highlighting their fangs and exaggerating their narrowed eyes.

Valik stood in front of her. He towered over her, backed by his equally large companions, and Pidge struggled to contain the terror that trembled down her spine. She felt impossibly small. 

“Welcome to our camp, Princess Allura,” Valik said, his voice cold. A few Valpri jeered at her from the middle of the pack, but most were silent and staring. “Now that you’re with the DEXSAI, it’s time to meet _our_ leader.” 

He gestured up the mountain path. The dirt trail wove up through the trees, far too narrow to accommodate a vehicle. In the distance, Pidge could see the glow of torchlight and hear the murmur of a crowd. Fear locked her limbs as she stared. 

“After you, Princess,” Valik said, his voice an icy mockery of reverence. 

A knot of dread sunk into her stomach like a stone. The Valpri surrounded her on all sides, leaving only the path ahead open. They’d snag her in seconds if she tried to run, and Pidge had no doubt they’d drag her up the path regardless of any attempts to escape. 

At least this way she’d be under her own power. 

Pidge swallowed her fear down, took a deep breath, and began to walk.

 

 

-

 

 

As Shiro led the way through the Valpri city, he quickly realized just how widespread the DEXSAI attacks had been. 

Telltale ribbons of smoke cut through the magenta sky, marking various areas of destruction. Shiro could hear cries and shouts echoing across the city, mixing with a high-pitched emergency siren that never ceased. As they ran through the city, they passed by small groups of Valpri helping evacuate citizens or treating injuries. Along the way, he caught sight of at least two collapsed buildings, surrounded by crowds of Valpri digging through rubble and trying to douse any fires. The air burned with panic and fear. 

Shiro ran down the main street, recalling the path that led the way to the Lions. They had already hit two checkpoints, but Xra Kesmit had apparently taken the initiative and radioed ahead to give notice. At each checkpoint, the gate guards waved them through without protest. Shiro couldn’t help but stare at these new guards with suspicion, but their uniforms were different from the black-clad royal guards that betrayed the city. Besides, they paid the passing paladins little attention, too busy trying to corral terrified citizens into an orderly evacuation. 

“We’re almost there!” Shiro called back to Lance and Coran as the gate finally came into view, its vast expanse of purple stone glittering in the mauve sunset. “Coran, take off with the pod as soon as you can. Lance and I can explain the situation from the ground.” 

“What about—” Lance began as they began to weave through the groups of scared Valpri clustered in the square. He glanced around at the Valpri, conscious of their proximity. “—uh. What about the _other one_?” 

It took Shiro a few moments to register that he was asking about Allura. She’d been heading to the Lions prior to the attacks, but with their portable communicators destroyed, there was no way to update her regarding the plan. He doubted that any random Valpri would care about their ruse, certainly not after the attack on the city and its chaotic aftermath, but he appreciated Lance’s consideration of their mission nonetheless. 

“We’ll be able to communicate once we’re in the Lions,” Shiro reasoned, nodding at Lance. 

They rushed through the gate, pushing past crowds of frightened citizens with relative ease. The Lions came into view just past the thick walls of the gate, both surrounded by particle barriers that kept the crowds of Valpri away. Shiro could just make out Coran’s small shuttle nestled between the shields, protected by its proximity to the Lions. 

They split up without further conversation, Coran running to his shuttle as Shiro and Lance darted toward their respective Lions. The particle barriers vanished and both Lions moved without warning, eyes glowing gold and drawing the attention of the nearby Valpri. Ignoring the gasps from the crowd, Shiro ran to the Black Lion as it drew low and opened its mouth for him to board. 

Out of the corner of his eye, Shiro caught sight of a dark shape rushing toward the Black Lion. He turned to meet the possible attack as the robed Valpri darted forward, immediately on guard as his arm flared to life— 

“Shiro!” the Valpri said, blocking him with an unarmed hand and looking up from under its hood. 

It was Allura. Shiro froze, dropping his arm as he realized that she must have been hiding out by the Lions when the attacks occurred. Though her shoulders were still unnaturally broad, Allura had dropped her facial disguise, features clearly Altean despite the brown fur still covering her skin. Still, her eyes were familiar as they stared at him with alarm. “Are you all right? I saw Lance and Coran, but where’s Pidge?” 

“The DEXSAI rebels grabbed her,” Shiro replied. Even just saying the words made guilt and panic twist in his stomach. Allura stared back at him, her sudden horrified expression echoing his feelings. “Coran gave her some kind of tracker, but we have to move quick to get her back. You should return to the Castle—” 

“No,” Allura cut him off, tone brokering no argument. “I’m riding with you.” 

There was no time to debate the issue. Shiro shrugged and made his way into the cockpit, not bothering to protest. As he grabbed his helmet from the seat, Allura asked, “But why would they kidnap _Pidge_ —?” 

“Well, they thought she was you,” Shiro replied. Only when he heard Allura’s quiet gasp did Shiro realize how curt he sounded, but he was too busy focusing on initiating the Black Lion to backtrack. 

In his ears, Shiro could hear Coran in middle of reporting to the Castle: _“—need to get to your Lion immediately. Keith, I’ll need you to monitor the tracker until I return, since the Red Lion is the fastest—”_

“But why would they bother to kidnap _me_?” Allura asked as she strapped herself into the passenger seat built into the side. She sounded almost offended at the idea. “It makes no sense—” 

“No idea, Princess,” Shiro replied as he began start-up procedures for flight. Flipping on the transceiver, he asked the group, “This is Shiro. I have Allura with me in the Black Lion. Castle Prime, status report.” 

Before Keith could answer, Lance cut in, “The tracker isn’t working!” He sounded panicked. 

Terror solidified in Shiro’s gut. Trying to force it down, Shiro snapped, “ _What_?” 

“It keeps flickering on and off,” Keith explained. “It’s just having a hard time locking on—” 

“It’s the Valpri atmosphere,” Coran clarified. “It’s interfering with the signal. The tracker itself can only emit a steady frequency on its own, so we’ll have to manually boost the power from the Castle. I could walk Keith through it, but it’ll be faster for me to override the system myself—” 

“Fine, let’s do that,” Shiro said, already looking ahead. “Coran, what’s your ETA to the Castle?” 

“Five dobashes, if I’ve calculated the lift correctly.” 

“Roger,” Shiro said. “Keith, Hunk?” 

“Hunk’s heading to the Yellow Lion now,” Keith replied. “I’m going to follow as soon as Coran gets back to man the bridge.” 

“I’ll project the tracker to the rest of you,” Coran said. “You should be able to pull the data from there once the tracker locks.” 

“All right,” said Shiro. He felt some of his panic fade as the Black Lion lifted into the air. Pidge was still missing, status unknown, but the rest of his team was back in communication with a plan in place. The Black Lion growled beneath him, echoing his determination to challenge whoever dared to steal her packmate’s paladin. Her presence was a steady counterweight against his fear. 

Driven by the Black Lion’s strength, Shiro continued, “Coran, as soon as you get a confirmed lock on Pidge’s tracker, let us know. Keith, keep trying to lock on until Coran gets there. Lance, you and I are on standby until we have a solid location – I’m not risking these guys going to ground until we have an area to focus on.” 

As the rest of the team confirmed his orders, Shiro glanced over at Allura. She was slowly letting the Valpri features fade from her disguise, brown fur fading into smooth skin. She stared down at her hands, fury warring with fear in her expression. 

Flipping the transceiver off, Shiro commented, “You’re not going to be as much help in here with me.” 

“I’m not running back to the Castle,” Allura replied. Her tone was biting, but Shiro could tell she wasn’t trying to direct any anger at him. “Not now. Coran is more than capable of managing the tracker, and I can’t just—” 

She cut herself off. Her hands clenched into fists on her lap. 

“It wouldn’t be running away,” Shiro countered softly. “You’ve directed our battles from the bridge plenty of times—” 

Allura looked up at him sharply, jaw set tightly. With a quiet voice that belied the intense expression on her face, she said, “It was _my_ idea to send Pidge in unarmed. Whoever kidnapped her was aiming for me, and I’m the one responsible for putting her in that position. I refuse to go back to the Castle while she’s still missing. If she gets hurt or killed because of _my stupid plan_ —” 

“It wasn’t stupid,” Shiro interrupted. She started to protest, but he cut her off again, reiterating, “We all agreed to the plan, and none of us could have seen this coming. If I had been at her side like I should have been—” 

Shiro cut himself off, not wanting to start down the rabbit hole of _what ifs_ and _if onlys_. He knew from experience that it wouldn’t help. Changing course, Shiro said, “We did the best we could with the information we had. It’s a bad situation, but we’re getting her back.” 

Even as he spoke, Shiro found it hard to believe his own words. They sounded false to his ears as worry built up in his heart. He’d seen too many friends disappear from his life to blindly believe that everything would work out. 

Allura stared back at him, the same dark knowledge in her eyes. Still, her expression lifted as she let herself be bolstered by his words nonetheless. 

“If we’re going to rescue Pidge, then I’m exactly where I want to be,” Allura said. “I intend to show these rebels exactly what Altean justice means.”

“As soon as we have a signal, that’s what we’re gonna do,” Shiro confirmed. 

He stared down at the screen in front of him, where Coran’s tracker was displaying the flickering results from Pidge’s tracker. It occasionally locked on a general location, but they still didn’t have a confirmed fix. 

The only thing they could do was wait.

 

 

-

 

 

Pidge felt like she was marching toward her own doom. 

She approached the trail’s end with lead in her steps, guided by Valik and the rest of her kidnappers. Despite letting her walk the path, Valik kept a heavy hand on her shoulder, clearly showing her role as a prisoner. Through the trees ahead of them, Pidge saw a shapeless crowd carrying scattered torches, backed by a pink sunset that was quickly darkening into night. Somewhere to her right, she could hear a rushing river, but it was too dark to see how close it was. 

As she reached the peak, Pidge was struck by the overwhelming urge to run, even knowing how futile it would be. As though he sensed her fear, Valik made a point to tighten his grip on her shoulder as they reached the top, an unspoken reminder of her helplessness. 

Despite her terror, Pidge couldn’t help but stare in awe once their destination came fully into view. The crest of the hill overlooked the entire basin, giving her a stunning view of the capital and its surrounding mountains backed by the twilight sky. The city was far enough away that she couldn’t make out many details, but she recognized the purple stone gate as it glittered in the sunset. The sky above the city was hazy with patches of black smoke from various attacks, striking Pidge with the realization that the banquet hadn’t been the only target. 

She looked for the Lions but couldn’t see them. They had parked on the other side of the gate, so that didn’t necessarily mean anything, but Pidge couldn’t help the pang of worry in her heart. The others would surely come after her if they were able, so if they hadn’t gotten to their Lions, then— 

Pidge refused to think about it. 

Instead, she tore her eyes away from the city and regarded the view in front of her. Valik and her guards led her toward a large mass of Valpri who stared at her with angry eyes. They chattered amongst themselves as she was brought forward, an ambiance of dark victory thick in the air. The sky was dark enough to cast most of the group in shadow, but Pidge thought there must be at least a hundred Valpri clustered together in the clearing. 

Pidge glanced around desperately for possible ways to escape, but her options seemed even more limited now. The left side of the clearing faded into a gradual decline, walled by a line of trees at one angle and a sheer cliff on the other. Even if Pidge had been able to break away from Valik’s grasp, she would have to get through the entire crowd of jeering Valpri to make it to the forest. 

The drop-off on her right was closest. She could probably make it in ten paces, but she wasn’t close enough to estimate how steep it was. The brief glimpses she had seen and the sound of rushing water suggested it led down into a ravine, but that didn’t mean it was a safe incline. For all she could tell, it was as dangerous as jumping straight off the cliff.

_It might be my only option_ , Pidge thought as she was guided toward the crowd of Valpri. It was definitely her closest exit. She wished she had her armor instead of this useless dress. If she had to move quickly through the forest, the silky green satin of her gown wouldn’t do anything to protect her. 

She pulled her attention back to the mass of angry Valpri. Most of them were grouped together, holding scattered torches and stone weapons. One of the Valpri stood in front of the others: a heavily muscled giant with a series of scars across half his face and a grand robe that clearly marked him as the leader. Two Valpri stood nearby with torches, the flickering light casting shadows across his face. The lead Valpri stared at her with dark eyes as they approached, baring his fangs in a terrifying grimace. 

Valik drew her to a halt when they were still several steps away from the scarred Valpri. 

“Wise Master Elok,” Valik greeted reverently, with no hint of the mocking tone he’d used toward Pidge. “I present Princess Allura of Altea, former guest of the royal _vlek_ of Valpri City and now a prisoner of the DEXSAI.” 

The crowd behind Elok cheered loudly, their cries echoing throughout the clearing. Pidge froze at the sound, hands fisted at her sides to keep from shaking. Even the smallest of the Valpri was twice her size, and both Valik and Elok towered over her with ease. She had no idea what they wanted or how she was going to survive being their prisoner, but her eyes darted again at the shadowed ravine to her right. If she was quick, she might be able to dodge her captors just long enough to swing over the side. 

Before her glance could give her away, Pidge looked back at the jeering crowd. Elok stared back at her, not cheering like his followers. Instead, he simply watched her, cold intellect clear in his eyes. Pidge couldn’t tell what he was evaluating, but a flash of hot anger briefly overwhelmed her fear at the thought of being judged by the very person who had ordered her kidnapping.

_It’s not like I asked to be here_ , she thought, glaring back at him. 

Her anger didn’t seem to bother Elok. If anything, he looked amused.

Elok raised a hand to quell the noise of the crowd. They fell silent almost immediately, a clearer sign of his power than his heavy muscles or the guns holstered at his side. He gestured vaguely with one arm, and Pidge was shoved forward by Valik, nearly tripping over the hem of her dress in surprise. She managed to stay on her feet, but now stood by herself mere feet from the gigantic alien. 

“Princess Allura,” Elok greeted. His voice was deeper than Valik’s, and he spoke with a volume that seemed designed to project. “I am Master Elok. Welcome to the DEXSAI camp.” 

He paused, eyeing her expectantly. Pidge realized he was waiting for a formal response like the one she’d performed for Xra Kesmit just hours ago. 

Pidge scowled instead, her fear giving backbone to her anger. Aware of her disguise, she affected her best imitation of Allura when she was annoyed, snapping, “On Altea, we generally don’t welcome guests by _kidnapping_ them, Master Elok.” 

“If you lie with _vlek_ , you get treated like _vlek_ ,” Elok replied coolly, much to the pleasure of his jeering followers. With mockery clear in his voice, he added, “I see there isn’t much to be said for the manners of the exalted Alteans.” 

Pidge had no idea what _vlek_ was, but she could tell she was being insulted. She bit back a snappy retort, still unsure of her role and not wanting to exacerbate the situation. She could handle a few stupid insults. Rather than reply, she opted to glare at him instead. 

After a long moment of tense silence, Elok bared his fangs again, making him look particularly wolfish. Raising his voice louder for the benefit of the crowd, Elok said, “Do you know why I’ve brought you here today?” 

“No,” Pidge replied. “But I suppose you’re going to tell me.” 

Elok eyed her, hearing the petulant tone. He growled sharply at her, fangs flashing in the torchlight. Without thinking, Pidge drew back like she was faced with a growling dog. She caught herself after a moment, frustrated by her own reaction, but her brief display of fear seemed enough to satisfy Elok. He turned to catch the attention of his followers. 

“The Valpri people have long been subjugated by the whims of the corrupt royal class. But our slavery ends today!” Elok stated grandly, gesturing to the group behind him as they erupted in furious cheers. He was looking at her, but his words were loud and enunciated, like he wanted everyone to hear. 

_It’s a show_ , Pidge realized, eyes darting around the crowd of Valpri as they reacted with fervent devotion. He was riling up his base and she was just a prop. 

“The royal family starves our workers and steals our children!” Elok continued. “They stole the very basin we called our home for thousands of years! For over one hundred years, we’ve been forced to mine the stone from our rivers for the wealth of their children, harvest the food from our mountains for the sake of their stomachs, and suffer untold misfortune under the weight of their weapons. But no longer! For today we gain an ally that will help us rid the world of those corrupt _vlek_ for the rest of eternity!” 

Elok looked at her with vicious glee in his eyes, and Pidge realized his meaning with a sinking heart. There was only one force in the universe widespread and powerful enough to care about destabilizing a foreign planet, and Pidge already knew they were in contact with the Valpri. 

It always came back to the Galra. 

“The Galra have promised their support of our revolution in exchange for some very specific prisoners,” Elok said, staring down at her. “It seems that the Voltron Alliance has been causing them untold headaches. When I heard that Voltron was coming to meet with the royal _vlek_ on Valpri, I knew it was our chance to end this conflict once and for all. The Galra Empire was very eager to accept our offer to give them the Princess of Altea in exchange for their support.” 

“You can’t trust the Galra,” Pidge replied, so quickly that she just barely remembered to affect Allura’s accent. “They don’t care about your rebellion – if anything, they’d use it as a way to take over your planet after you destroyed each other. You’d just be trading one oppressor for another!” 

To her surprise, Elok replied, “The DEXSAI are not fools, Princess. We know the Galra cannot be trusted. We turn to this alliance out of desperation, not trust. Which is why I want to make a deal.” 

Pidge narrowed her eyes. “What kind of deal?” 

“The legend of Altean magic is well-known throughout Valpri,” Elok said. “I’ve heard of your ability to align with the quintessence of a planet. That’s quite a remarkable power. A power that would be very useful to the DEXSAI, more than even the Galra support would be. I’m told you can strip the land of its resources and leave it broken. I want you to use Altean magic to destroy the capital city!” 

He ended his pronouncement by banging his fist against his chest. The crowd echoed the gesture with haunting power, the sound like drums of war beating a battle cry. 

Pidge frowned in confusion, but a glance toward Valik’s smug face told her just who had provided that information. Still uncertain, Pidge replied with the most Allura-like answer she could think of: “Altean magic is meant to help the planet, not harm it.” 

“This _would_ be helping the planet,” Elok said with the conviction of a prophet. He gestured at the city nestled in the basic below, the view dark enough that she could only see the general shape of the city backed by magenta sky. “Look at that abomination on our planet. The _vlek_ waste our resources and destroy our land, scarring our sacred ground in their desperate rush for wealth. With Altean magic, we could strip the resources beneath their feet and bring them back into unity with nature, the way the Valpri were meant to be.” 

“Wait, you want to save the planet by _destroying_ it?” Pidge asked. Her accent wavered, but the Valpri didn’t seem to notice. “That doesn’t make any sense.” 

“The _vlek_ have contaminated that soil,” Elok replied, much to the pleasure of his followers, who cheered at the declaration. “We need to burn away their infection. And if you help us, Princess, we wouldn’t need the Galra to defeat the city vermin. You could go free tonight, back to your Voltron Alliance and alien wars. And we Valpri would regain our homeland!” 

The last sentence was said as a shout, and the rebel crowd cheered with such vigor that a rush seemed to wash over them. 

“Help us, Princess Allura,” Elok said, staring coldly down at her. “Use your Altean magic to destroy the city of _vlek_ , and I will bring you back to your ship myself once our war is won. The DEXSAI will be a greater friend to the Voltron Alliance than the royal _vlek_ ever were.” 

_He’s lying_ , Pidge thought as she stared at the rebel leader. 

Despite the promise in his words, she knew he was lying with a sudden, undeniable clarity. The ice in his eyes belied the warmth in his voice as he watched her, ever calculating in his approach. Even if she could cast Altean magic, Pidge knew that Elok would betray her to the Galra once she was spent and helpless. The power-hungry gleam in his eyes spoke more truthfully than he did, and the Galra had weapons and money to spare. 

That being said, it didn’t really matter if he was telling the truth or not. Pidge wasn’t the real Princess Allura. Even if she believed him, she had no Altean magic to help her destroy anything. Her blood went cold as Pidge realized that she had no choice but to refuse, even if it meant her life. 

Her mind flashed through possible futures, from getting killed by Elok here on the mountain or sold to the Galra like cattle, and she had to blink back fearful tears as she realized how hopeless it was. A small voice in her head whispered terrified apologies to her family and friends, wishing she had other options. 

But there was only one thing she could do. 

“Altean magic is meant to heal, not harm,” Pidge repeated, holding her chin high as she reputed him. To her amazement, her voice didn’t waver once, even though she had to force herself to keep from trembling. She focused on copying Allura’s regal bearing, trying to mimic her strength. “I will never help you destroy this world, no matter how many lies you tell.”

The elated gleam left Elok’s eyes, and in the very next second he backhanded her across the face. 

Stars flashed in her eyes as Pidge slammed into the ground, head cracking against the hard dirt in a wave of agony. The world shuttered, blood rushing hot in her ears, and for a long moment the only thing she could do was desperately gasp for air. Pidge stared blankly at the ground beneath her, blinking back hot tears of pain and trying to regain her bearings. Her jaw felt like it was on fire. 

Above her, Pidge could dimly hear Elok mocking, “So much for the fabled Altean strength.” From the resulting laughter, it seemed like he was grandstanding to his followers again. 

Unwilling to just stay down, Pidge struggled to her knees, the world swimming dizzily beneath her. Unfortunately, the extra movement dislodged one of the Altean modifications that Allura had attached to her ears. Elok’s strike had jarred it loose, and as Pidge struggled to stand up, it fell off. 

Pidge stared at the prosthetic, horror freezing her movements even as the dizziness from the blow faded. For a brief moment, she dared to hope that no one had noticed, but then— 

“What’s this?” Elok roared above her. 

Strong hands yanked her upright, and Pidge found herself standing in front of Elok again, her arms pinned to her sides by Valik. 

The scarred Valpri grabbed her by the hair and twisted her face around to stare at her now-unmodified ear. His eyes burned with fury as he snarled, “What sort of trickery is this?” 

Without waiting for a response, he jerked her head to the other side, uncaring of the sharp pain that rippled through her scalp. He ripped the other prosthetic ear away. Pulling her face toward him, Elok glowered as he brought a hand up to test the Altean markings that Allura had carefully applied to her cheeks. 

Even if Pidge didn’t see the smears of green on Elok’s fur, she would have known the result by the vicious way he released her hair, practically shoving her into Valik’s chest.

Pidge sagged in Valik’s grip, her entire head throbbing with pain. A feeling of inevitable dread twisted in the pit of her stomach. _He’s sure to kill me now._  

“She isn’t Altean at all!” Elok roared at Valik, standing close enough that Pidge could smell his putrid breath. 

Valik didn’t stammer or quake in response to Elok’s fury. Instead, he released Pidge and spun her around to stare at her himself, grabbing her face in one hand. Pidge winced, trying to pull from his grip, but he seized her arm with the other hand and held her still.

After a few moments of painful investigation, Valik looked over at Elok and said, “She looks like the Voltron paladins. They were taller, but they had the same type of ears and facial structure.” 

“Is that so?” Elok replied. He grabbed her by the front of her dress and yanked her from Valik’s grasp. He effortlessly drew her up to eye level, her feet dangling off the ground. Pidge flailed and grabbed his hand where he snagged her, more for stability than out of any hope of breaking his grip. 

“Where is the _real_ Princess Allura, paladin?” Elok growled. 

Faking a bravery she didn’t feel, Pidge hissed, “Nowhere _you’ll_ ever find her.” 

She dropped her Altean accent, her words coming out sharp and decidedly human. In the back of her mind, somewhere past all the pain and terror, Pidge thought that Lance would be proud of her. It was a perfect movie line. 

Elok snarled, his fangs flashing. He clearly wanted to hit her again, but managed to restrain himself. He turned to his followers, still holding Pidge in the air by her dress, and declared, “It seems we’ve been deceived, DEXSAI. The Voltron Alliance is as filled with lies as the royal _vlek_ , and sent us a paladin when we were promised a princess!” 

The crowd roared, the vicious jeers sending tremors of fear down her spine. 

“But it does not matter!” Elok crowed, turning back to Pidge with a victorious gleam in his eyes. “You may not be the prize, but the Galra will pay for a Voltron paladin just as readily as they will the Altean princess. Even without Altean magic, we will have our victory!” 

As the DEXSAI masses cheered, Pidge hung in Elok’s grasp, feeling like ice was running through her veins. Her eyes darted desperately to the side, staring at the edge of the ravine just a few feet away. From her new vantage point, she could see that it was steep but not sheer; if she could break away, she might be able to flee down the hill faster than the Valpri could follow. 

_If_ she could break away, that is. Pidge twisted and pulled at Elok’s grasp, but the giant Valpri barely seemed to notice her struggle, too busy riling up his followers. 

Just as she was contemplating grabbing the dagger at her side, Pidge felt a tiny spot of heat burn on her chest, and a sudden light flashed in her eyes. 

In the dim twilight, the white light glowed brighter than the torches. Elok whirled around to stare at her. Shifting his grip, he tore the lacy front of her dress open to glare at the offending light. 

Pidge abruptly realized what it was. The tracker. Coran had activated it! 

She instantly looked up to the sky. Still held up by Elok, Pidge had a perfect view of the city basin below. It may have grown dark, but the shapes of the Black and Blue Lions flying toward her were unmistakable against the purple twilight. Hope and relief sparked joyously in her heart. Shiro and Lance had survived the attacks and were searching for her! The bird necklace around her neck pulsed with white light, a beacon in the darkness. 

It only took a second for her hopes to be dashed. 

Elok followed her gaze and turned to stare at the sky, picking out the shapes of the Voltron Lions as easily as Pidge had. He growled, the vicious sound of a villain not yet beaten, and Pidge knew in an instant that Coran’s beacon didn’t matter. 

The Lions were still too far away. 

The scene flashed clear in her mind’s eye. Elok would rip the tracker from her neck and go to ground, hiding in the very mountains their group had called home for a hundred years. Pidge had seen just how vast the mountain range was when she flew in. The other paladins would never find her if the DEXSAI didn’t want her to be found. By the time Shiro and Lance arrived, she would already be gone, disappeared into the wilderness until the Galra arrived to claim their prize. 

She had to buy more time. 

As quickly as she could, Pidge yanked the ceremonial dagger out of its sheath and stabbed it into Elok’s hand. With a snarl of pain, he dropped her, and Pidge lost the dagger as she fell. She hit the ground in a roll, just barely dodging Valik as he grabbed at her, and sprinted to the right. 

Without another thought, Pidge leapt over the edge into the darkness below.

 

 

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> annnnnd now you get a literal cliffhanger. Enjoy! :P
> 
> also, I hope my description of Shiro's panic attack & Lance's dubiously effective way to snap him out of it worked out in this chapter. If you experience panic attacks, I hope my description of this scene doesn't seem too off-base, but please let me know if the scene isn't as accurate as it could be.
> 
> as always, if you liked the chapter, please leave me a comment & let me know what part stuck with you! Or if you have a critique, please mention it so I can possibly correct it or explain it in later chapters. Either way, I'd love to hear what you think!


	4. Chapter 4

 

 

 

 

 

The instant she tumbled over the edge, Pidge thought, _this was a mistake_. 

But it was too late for regrets. Above her, she heard furious cries from Elok and the other DEXSAI, their voices and gravity propelling her down the unseen path. 

The hill leading down to the ravine was steep, but Pidge still tried to stay upright, just barely maintaining her footing through patches of dirt and rocks. She felt like she was skipping and jumping more than anything else, leaping from step to step without any guide. The dim twilight overhead was no help in the shadowed ravine, and Pidge was left to half-run, half-fall down the increasingly steep hillside. 

She kept stumbling forward, clinging to bushes and small trees as she slid precariously downwards. She couldn’t hear anyone above her, but that didn’t mean she was safe. The Valpri probably weren’t desperate enough to risk their lives on a suicidal charge down the mountain. 

Pidge, however, was not spoiled for choice in the matter. 

She made another unstable leap down to a shadowed ledge, but the instant she landed, Pidge felt the ground give way beneath her feet. 

She screamed, unbidden, as her shaky grasp on balance left her entirely and she tumbled forward without control. 

Pidge had just enough presence of mind to tuck her head into her arms as she rolled down the hill, protecting herself as best she could. She spun faster and faster through the brush, sharp stabs of rock barraging her at every roll. 

She couldn’t breathe. The world was a black, spinning blur. She clenched her eyes shut and waited for the end, unable to stop— 

Abruptly, the ground beneath her disappeared entirely. 

Pidge plunged into the abyss, too shocked to even scream. 

Seconds later, she hit the ground so hard it stole the breath from her lungs, sending a sharp stab of pain through her entire side. It felt like she’d been impaled. The pain froze her throat, trapping her in a vicious hold of agony and adrenaline. For a few terrible seconds, Pidge felt like she might just die from that alone. 

Then she gasped, breathing in a deep gulp of air as her chest throbbed in time. 

She was no longer falling. 

She could barely breathe, but she was no longer falling. That was something. 

Pidge stayed motionless for a long time, scarcely aware of anything other than her shaking gasps of air and the burning pain that radiated throughout her body. 

She didn’t know how long she stayed there, trembling and curled into a fetal position. The sharp pain didn’t die down, but eventually her breathing grew a bit easier. If she took small, careful sips of air, the ache in her side throbbed more than stabbed, blending into the complaints of her entire body after her trip down the hill. It was still awful, but more bearable. 

Eventually, Pidge opened her eyes, taking in her surroundings without moving. She was at the base of the ravine, just a few feet away from a trickling creek. Somewhere nearby, she could hear the river, much closer than before. The ravine was cast in shadows, darker than it had been at the top of the mountain, but the tracker on her neck cast a white semi-circle of light around her surroundings. 

The instant she saw that, Pidge snatched up the tracker in one fist, shielding it from view. It sent a jolt of pain through her ribcage, but it didn’t matter. She knew from her time at the garrison that white light could be seen for miles in the darkness. If she didn’t cover it, her tracker would lead the Valpri right to her. 

At that thought, Pidge steeled herself to move, knowing she couldn’t just stay there. She had to find a more secure hiding spot. She slowly shifted, trembling as her side throbbed with agony, and managed to get her free hand underneath her. Taking a few short, bracing breaths, Pidge pushed herself up into a seated position. 

Her chest burst with hot waves of pain, stealing her breath and forcing a whimper through clenched teeth, but Pidge pushed through it. She focused on her breathing, shaking and straining against the ordeal, and finally managed to sit up. 

For a long moment, she sat there just regaining her breath. With the tracker’s light blocked, her surroundings were cast in dark shadow, but Pidge could easily see the large, jutting rock that she had landed on. She glanced up, and saw a nearly sheer wall of rock above her, the ledge easily twenty feet up. 

She stared blankly at the rock. Her side throbbed in time with her breathing, and Pidge realized that it was her ribs. She must have broken some of them on the rock when she landed after rolling off the edge of the cliff. 

Maybe jumping off the side of a ravine hadn’t been the best idea. 

On the other hand, she was alive and no longer a prisoner of the DEXSAI. 

 _Small victories_ , Pidge thought, trying to bolster herself against the pain. 

She stared around at her unfamiliar surroundings, head aching and ribs burning, and decided she was going to focus on the good things. The Castle didn’t need the light from her tracker to locate her. She just needed to find a secure place to hide until Shiro and Lance could find her and take her back to the Castle. 

She could hear shouts in the distance, far away and echoing with the guttural accent of the Valpri. It sounded like they were getting closer. 

She had to hide. 

Bracing herself for pain, Pidge slowly climbed to her feet. It took her three tries, but she soon found herself on shaky legs, blinking stars of agony from her eyes. She could feel a trickle of blood down one leg and her head still felt like she’d been hit with a bat, but it was nothing compared to the burning in her side. She spent a few moments just breathing, willing her body to overcome the discomfort. 

As soon as she felt able to move without collapsing, Pidge began to shuffle forward. 

She didn’t know where she was going. The entire ravine was cast in darkness, black shapes forming monsters in the shadows. But Pidge could hear the Valpri in the distance and her clearest thought was to move away from them. She heard a river ahead of her, away from the sounds of her pursuers, and she focused on the sound of rushing water. It was as good an option as any.

As she walked, Pidge slowly began to realize that she wasn’t tracking very well. The ground occasionally wavered beneath her, dizziness ebbing and flowing like waves of the tide. Sometimes she could hear the shouts around her clearly, but just as often it sounded like the world around her was at the other end of a long tunnel. More than once, Pidge heard buzzing swell up in her ears after enduring a particularly bad stab of pain from her ribs. She didn’t know how badly she was injured, but somewhere behind the cloudy fog in her mind, Pidge knew those symptoms weren’t good. 

She really needed to find a place to hide. 

She kept one hand clenched tight around the tracker, its solid shape and warm heat offering much needed stability. Her other arm was braced around her torso as if she could hold her broken ribs in place. She trudged slowly alongside the creek, going as fast as her injured body would allow, and time passed without acknowledgement. 

Eventually, Pidge found herself at the end of the creek. The ground dropped off, the trickle of water from the creek weaving a furrow in between two banks of dirt. Ahead of her, Pidge could see a large river as wide as a six-lane highway. Even in the darkness, she could see that its current was moving quickly, as though it had recently been blessed with ample rainfall. Its purple waters looked black in the dim moonlight. 

There was no way she could cross it. 

As she stood there, silently regarding the sight in front of her, Pidge could hear the sounds of the Valpri coming even closer. But then she heard a much better sound: the twin roars of the Black and Blue Lions, ricocheting through the ravine with a bone-shaking echo. 

Pidge glanced up, turning to look at the site from which she had fallen. Far up at the top of the ravine, she could see the glow of running lights along the Blue Lion’s broad back. She couldn’t see the Black Lion, but she knew Shiro had probably parked nearby. 

As she stared up at the sky, another shape in the distance caught her eye. The Yellow Lion was zooming quickly toward the mountains, moonlight reflecting off the gold gleam of its flank. 

Despite her pain, Pidge felt hope spark in her heart at the sight of the Lions. The other paladins were searching for her. She wasn’t alone. She just had to keep out of sight and avoid the Valpri until they could track her down. 

With that in mind, Pidge glanced around for a secure place to hide. After a few minutes, she spotted a small gap between two huge rocks along the bank, just big enough to create a tiny cave. Without a second thought, Pidge immediately limped toward it, bracing herself against the rush of dizziness that swelled at her sudden movement. 

It was a tight fit, but she managed to wedge herself in the shadow of the rocks. Her ribs screamed in agony, but Pidge clenched her teeth against it until the sharpness faded. She just needed to stay put. From her position, she could only see a sliver of the riverbank through the gap in the rocks, but there wasn’t anything she could do about that. The shadows would hide her better than anything else in the darkness. 

She just needed to wait. 

Pidge closed her eyes and rested her head against the rock, feeling exhaustion deep in her bones. Her aching head and throbbing side ensured she wouldn’t sleep, but she felt herself fade into a doze nonetheless. Occasionally, she heard shouts echoing off the ravine walls, but it all faded together. The air felt cold around her, its chill exacerbated by the damp stone she was resting against. 

Vaguely, Pidge wondered if she was going into shock. It seemed too extreme to imagine, but she couldn’t quite will herself to break through the numbness that had settled along her limbs. 

She just needed to wait. The others would find her. Then she could go the Castle and Coran would fix her up. Lance would laugh about her silly dress and Keith would tell her she was stupid to fall down the ravine. Hunk would whip up some alien drink that tasted like hot chocolate. Allura would fret and Shiro would watch her with a concerned expression and tired smile that always reminded her of her dad, before everything in her life had turned upside-down. 

Pidge didn’t know how long she hid there, eyelids heavy and mind drifting, but she jolted awake at the sound of rocks scattering along the ground nearby. Her breath caught in her throat. 

For a long moment, Pidge stayed frozen, listening desperately for any new movement. When nothing changed, she slowly let out her breath, letting herself relax in tiny stages. 

Then a hand grasped around her ankle and dragged her out of the alcove in a swift, painful jerk. 

Blinking through a starburst of pain, Pidge saw Elok looming above her, fangs bared in a vicious grimace. His black eyes gleamed with victory as she gasped for breath, terror freezing her lungs. 

“Found you,” he hissed. 

Pidge screamed.

 

 

-

 

 

As the Black Lion zeroed in on the mountaintop, Shiro looked back at Allura. 

“You can’t come with us,” he said, already bracing for her arguments. 

Predictably, Allura’s eyes flashed with anger. “I’m not just going to sit he—” 

“You _can’t_ ,” Shiro repeated. “We don’t know why they kidnapped Pidge, but I think it’s safe to say they were actually after the Altean Princess. We can’t risk giving them exactly what they want.” 

Allura frowned, but Shiro could tell his point had struck home. She looked over at the screen displaying thermal imagery of the mountaintop. The mass of red and orange shapes had scattered into the blue surroundings at their approach. To its left, a black outline map tracked Pidge’s location in sketchy white marks, giving them an approximate heading and bearing. 

“That’s true,” Allura finally admitted. Her voice was tight and quiet. 

The look on her face was familiar enough that Shiro’s stomach twisted with sympathetic guilt. Quickly, he closed his eyes and convened with the Black Lion, entering a conversation of half-crafted images and emotions. It only took a few seconds to receive the reply. Shiro blinked back to the present to see Allura staring at him, concerned. 

“Are your injuries getting worse?” she asked, examining his various wounds with a critical eye. “ _You_ should stay here if you—” 

Shiro cut her off, “I was talking with the Black Lion. Coran told Hunk to stake out the underwater tunnels and watch the exits. If you drop me off, the Black Lion will take you to meet him.” 

“I’d still be on planet,” Allura countered. She looked like she had the urge to argue more, but a glance at the quickly approaching mountaintop stopped her. 

“Better than going with Lance and I to face the DEXSAI directly,” Shiro said. Based on the display, he’d have to jump in the next minute if the Black Lion wasn’t going to land. “Go meet up with Hunk and establish a perimeter. Lance and I will pursue from this side. Sound good?” 

Allura nodded, a familiar expression of focus overcoming her face. Without another word, she activated the transceiver. “Hunk, the Black Lion is bringing me to meet you. Shiro and Lance will be in active pursuit.” 

Shiro blocked out Hunk’s affirmative response as he scrambled to the bay doors. Obligingly, the Black Lion opened her mouth, and Shiro saw the ground streaming beneath him fast enough to send a shiver of fear down his spine in anticipation. He silently thanked her, trying to distract from the insane maneuver he was planning, and felt a warm glow envelope his heart as she replied in turn. 

Then he jumped. 

The drag from the Black Lion’s flight sent him spinning dangerously through the air, but Shiro was prepared for that. He tucked himself into as small a ball as he could, waiting for his Lion to move on and ignoring the panic that clenched his gut as he dropped like a rock. 

After a few seconds, Shiro straightened, no longer buffeted by such perilous winds. The clearing at the top of the mountain was approaching fast, but he had enough time to activate his jet boosters. They stabilized him even more, taking him down with a steady pace. He rolled at he hit the ground, boosters deactivating, and jumped smoothly back up to take in his surroundings. 

The clearing was devoid of life, but Shiro could see extinguished torches scattered among flattened grass, clear signs of a gathering. He pulled up his portable display and swiped over to the tracker. Pidge’s track marks started near this clearing before abruptly moving toward the right. 

The Blue Lion landed as Shiro started toward the edge of the clearing. Without warning, she sounded off with a vicious roar that sent a thrill of terror down Shiro’s spine. 

From the sky, the Black Lion echoed her, loud enough to make the ground tremble around them. 

“That should give them some nightmares,” Lance said through his communicator. Shiro saw him drop out of his Lion’s mouth at the other side of the clearing. 

“Well, they definitely know we’re here now,” Shiro replied, resuming his scan of the clearing despite the darkness. On the screen, the white tracks marking Pidge’s location moved slowly away. Either she or the people holding her must be trying to sneak away. 

“Good,” Lance said, his tone cold.

Shiro didn’t respond, distracted by a glint of light in the grass. He bent down to examine it and came back up with one of the crystals that Allura had laced in Pidge’s hair. Glancing around the area, he saw another dark shape and looked closer to see Pidge’s false Altean ear. 

“I’m pretty sure they know she’s not Altean,” Shiro said, staring at the mangled ear with a frown. 

“And I’m pretty sure I know why Pidge’s tracks get all weird,” Lance replied, voice suddenly strangled. He had come close enough for Shiro to hear him directly, standing ten feet away and staring over the edge of the clearing. 

Shiro trotted over to stand by his side and stared down into a steep ravine, its depths masked by darkness. He could hear occasional shouts echoing up from the void, deep and urgent and angry. A few flashes of torchlight flickered through the forest leading down to the ravine.

“You think they took her this way?” Shiro asked, though even he knew he was only voicing false hopes. 

“I think she jumped,” Lance said darkly. Shiro glanced over and saw his jaw clench, looking more furious than Shiro had ever seen him. “That’s why they’re shouting. They’re looking for her.” 

The idea of Pidge jumping off the edge without any protection was enough to spark horror in his heart, but Shiro fought against the fear. If Pidge jumped, it meant she’d escaped her captors but she could be injured. They had to find her. 

Shiro glanced down at his display. The white track marks had stopped moving, but he didn’t hear anything from the ravine below. Knowing Pidge, she was probably hiding. 

He hoped she was hiding. 

“Let’s go,” Shiro said, nodding at the edge. 

“Straight down?” Lance asked. 

“Fastest path is a straight line.” 

Lance shrugged and leapt forward before Shiro could give the cue, activating his jetpack and dropping quickly down the steep hill. Shiro quickly followed. 

They made their way down in a series of controlled bounces. The steep ravine wall was mostly lined with dirt and rocks, but there was shrubbery in abundance and even a few scattered trees growing at strange angles. The light was even darker in the mountain’s shadow, but the glow from their paladin uniforms was bright enough to show a safe path. At the bottom of the ravine, the ground dropped off entirely, leaving Lance and Shiro to rely on their jetpacks to drop safely down to the creek below. 

Lance looked up at the sheer wall of rock beside him, staring up the way they had just come. It looked impossibly high from the ground. A slight waver to his voice, Lance asked, “Pidge _jumped_ from there?” 

He sounded very young in that moment, quiet and unsure, and Shiro steeled himself against the part of his mind that was focusing on the exact same thing. 

“Don’t think about it,” Shiro instructed, turning away from the wall and staring at their surroundings. It was too dark to see much more than the creek in front of them, but with the tracker, Shiro could see that Pidge had gone left along the creek. He nodded to Lance and started off that way, his pace brisk. 

Before he’d gone more than a few steps, a dark shape leapt from the woods and tackled him to the ground.

“Shiro!” he heard Lance cry, but he was too busy trying to roll away from his attacker. It was a Valpri, that much he could tell, but it had trapped him facedown, leaving little to gain leverage. Its hand was large and heavy on Shiro’s back, pinning him to the ground as it worked to twist his metal arm behind his back. 

A loud clap of gunfire sounded. The Valpri on his back jerked, slumping just far enough to the side for Shiro to shove him off. Shiro scrambled to his feet, staring down at the dying Valpri and over to Lance in one panicked glance. Lance stared back at him with wide eyes, his gun still raised up in firing position. 

Just then, Shiro saw movement in the trees— 

“Lance!” he shouted, but Lance was already turning. He fired on the new Valpri but only caught him in the shoulder, leaving Lance open to a vicious blow across the chest. Lance went flying, bayard dematerializing as he hit the ground. The Valpri turned to face Shiro, fangs bared, and Shiro suddenly realized it was Valik. He held a heavy club in one hand, still dressed in his plain black security outfit from the banquet. 

“Where is she?” Shiro snarled, his metal arm activating with a flash of purple light. 

“Your fellow _paladin_?” Valik sneered. He sniffed the air like he was scenting a path. Whatever he sensed must have satisfied his curiosity, since he stayed still and continued watching Shiro, eyes flashing viciously at the challenge. “I strangled her myself.” 

Shiro knew he was lying, but the hot anger that burned through him was bright and real. He leapt forward, slashing at Valik and catching a glancing blow across his arm from the club. Valik reached for him, but Shiro nimbly avoided the grasp as he spun around and stabbed at his enemy’s gut. 

A sudden blow struck him across the shoulders, sending him stumbling to the side, but Shiro managed to keep his footing long enough to block Valik’s club from crashing down on his chest. The hit landed with the force of a heavy mace, sending shivers of pain through Shiro’s entire body. He trembled, just barely holding Valik back, and finally managed to divert the blow to the side. 

Shiro stumbled back, already bracing himself for a follow-on attack when a blast of gunfire interfered. Valik staggered back from twin holes in his side, but he still didn’t fall. His eyes flashed in anger, looking between Shiro and Lance for the easier target. 

Just then, a high-pitched scream cut through the ravine. 

Shiro’s head whipped toward the sound, terror freezing his heart. The scream cut off with a choked whimper almost as soon as it began, leaving the ravine deadly quiet. 

 _Pidge_. 

His vision went red.

Lance’s gun flashed again, pushing Valik back across the creek. 

“Go!” Lance shouted. “I’ve got this!” 

Shiro took off without a second glance, trusting Lance to hold his own. He sprinted down the creek bed, metal arm still lit with purple light. Trees flashed by him as he ran through the dark forest, but no one else leapt from the shadows to stop him, and soon Shiro arrived at the bank of the river. There was a long stretch of damp dirt along the bank, bracketed by the river drop-off and a wall of boulders. 

A large Valpri with scars across half his face stood ten feet away, glaring back at Shiro with fangs bared. Shiro had never seen him before, but he wore dark robes belted by a gun holster, looking plainer and more severe than any Valpri Shiro had seen thus far. 

He held Pidge pinned against his chest with one massive arm. His other hand held some type of gun to her head.

Shiro jerked to a halt at the sight of the gun. He lowered his metal arm, purple light fading, and stood just out of reach from the Valpri. 

“Shiro,” Pidge said weakly, her face twisted into a painful grimace from her captor’s tight hold. Even in the darkness, Shiro could see a bruise blooming across her cheek, nearly large enough to cover half her face. Her feet dangled off the ground, borrowed dress in tatters around her legs. The tracker glowed in the dirt in front of them, half-buried with its chain broken.

“Let her go!” Shiro snarled at the alien, not daring to move with the gun still pointed at Pidge’s head. He could barely recognize his own voice. 

The Valpri glowered back at him, making no move to obey. Flashing his fangs again, he said, “The DEXSAI will not be defeated.” 

“I don’t give a crap about the DEXSAI,” Shiro snapped, stepping forward as far as he dared. The Valpri stepped back in turn, edging closer to the bank of the rushing river behind him. “You and the royal family can destroy each other for all I care. But you _will_ let her go.” 

“The Galra won’t help us without a prize,” the Valpri said, contemptuous. Shiro raised an eyebrow, answers suddenly locking into place, as he continued, “My brethren will be here in moments, and then we’ll have two paladins to trade for their assistance.” 

“You won’t be alive to enjoy it,” Shiro promised. He moved another pace forward, trying to minimize the angle of attack. The Valpri held Pidge like a human shield, but she only covered a small portion of his massive torso and Shiro could manipulate his arm more nimbly than any sword. If he struck fast enough, he might be able to knock the gun away, or at least force the Valpri to aim at him instead. 

The Valpri was perched at the edge of the riverbank and braced to run. He stared at Shiro with cold intelligence clear on his face, eyes pinned to Shiro’s arm. He shifted his grip on Pidge, making her wince as the weapon dug into her temple. Darkly, he snarled, “I only need one paladin to seal the deal with the Galra. If you attack, I’ll just kill her. There’s no way a _vlek_ like you will be fast enough to stop me.” 

Shiro froze. 

Then, from above them, Lance said, “Wanna bet?” 

The Valpri looked up sharply, catching sight of Lance positioned on top of one of the boulders. He stared down at the scene with a narrow-eyed scowl, bayard aimed steadily at Pidge’s captor. 

For a brief moment, the world stood still. 

Shiro could tell when the Valpri realized the tide had shifted. His eyes darted between Shiro and Lance at rapid speed, recalculating, and Shiro knew they only had seconds before he struck. 

The Valpri whipped the gun away from Pidge, returning Lance’s threat with his own. Shiro leapt forward, but not fast enough to stop him from firing at Lance, who jerked aside to avoid the shot. Shiro reached for Pidge, hoping to pull her from the Valpri’s grasp, but just as he grabbed her shoulder, the Valpri abruptly launched himself backwards. 

Shiro crashed to the ground, watching in horror as the Valpri tumbled over the bank into the river, Pidge still clutched in his arms.

 

 

-

 

 

Icy water swirled around her. 

Pidge couldn’t move, still trapped in Elok’s grip as he plunged deeper into the water. The world around them was cold and dark. Panic gripped her as she desperately fought to free herself, all the while hearing the same thought on a loop in her head: _I can’t breathe can’t breathe can’tBREATHE—_  

Elok’s grip never loosened. It felt like he was dragging her down to her death. 

The burning in her lungs overwhelmed everything, even the sharp agony from her broken ribs as he kept her pinned. It screamed for air, tightening around her throat until she could think of nothing else. 

Pidge struggled as best she could, but she could feel her movements slowing, her mind wandering. The pain began to fade away bit by bit, quieting even the crying in her lungs. Pidge almost felt like she was floating in the blackness. 

Then, without warning, she was launched from the water into the air, landing heavily on stone ground. She gasped for air, coughing and choking and vomiting up water in the darkness. Her ribs screamed as she convulsed, pain flaring up with every shaky breath, but Pidge couldn’t stop. Every cough brought up more water, leaving her helpless to fight against it. 

Eventually, the compulsion faded, leaving Pidge slumped over on her knees in a puddle of water, hacking weakly. She shivered as cold water dripped down her skin, worsened by the chill in the air. Her entire body ached. 

The room suddenly lit up. 

Pidge looked up to see Elok standing on the other side of the empty chamber, holding a newly lit torch with one hand. He was also soaking wet, but his otter-like brown fur seemed to shake it off better than Pidge’s waterlogged clothes, which clung loosely to her shivering form. He had dropped his heavy robes to the ground, leaving him wearing a simple toga, but his medallion still hung around his neck, gleaming gold in the firelight. 

The stone room was little more than a square ledge surrounding a pool of black water. As Pidge stared down at it, she realized that they must have come up from under the lake. It was some sort of underground chamber. 

She glanced around the room and saw a set of stairs leading upwards. 

It only took a few seconds to figure out that this was Elok’s escape route, but by the time that realization hit her, Elok was already storming forward to grab her. 

“No—!” Pidge protested, scrambling back, but there was nowhere to go. 

Elok snagged her arm and yanked her forward, practically pulling her arm out of its socket. Pidge twisted and fought, panic overriding all her senses, but his grip was like iron and offered no give. Still, she kicked and flailed against him, desperately fighting as he pulled her toward the stairs. 

In her mind’s eye, Pidge could still see Shiro reaching for her at the side of the river. She remembered Lance aiming his gun at Elok, and both of them staring in horror as Elok pulled her backwards into the river. 

They were searching for her. She had to buy them more time. 

Finally, Elok seemed to grow tired of her thrashing. With an annoyed growl, he flung her into the stone wall. 

The impact forced the air from her lungs, pain stabbing through her body like a knife. Her knees gave out and she would have collapsed if Elok hadn’t pinned her to the wall by her neck. He glared down at her, but Pidge could hardly see him through her blurring vision. 

Apparently unsatisfied, he jerked her back and slammed her into the wall again, head cracking against the stone. She cried out, gasping, as the pain in her side twisted with a terrible feeling of _wrong_ , radiating throughout her entire chest. 

Everything hurt. She struggled to breathe, but every attempt just made her chest burn worse. She choked and tasted copper on her tongue. It felt like she was breathing through a straw, pinched and desperate. 

Lost in pain, it took Pidge a few moments to realize that Elok was talking. 

“—n’t have to give them a _healthy_ paladin,” he snarled. His fangs were bared as he spoke, giving his words a strange lisp. “It would certainly be an easier trip for you if I didn’t break all of your bones, but I’d be more than happy to do so if you keep making trouble.” 

Pidge stared at him blankly, too overwhelmed by the pain to fully track what he was saying. The torchlight made shadows dance across his face and she stared at them listlessly, feeling strangely detached. Pain was the only clear presence in her life, like a hot brand inside her chest that made every choked breath a challenge. 

Evidently appeased by her lack of response, Elok dragged her forward by the arm yet again. Pidge stumbled alongside, barely managing to stay on her feet but knowing that he would only drag her if she fell. He pulled her up the stairs far too quickly for her to keep up. She fell more than she kept pace, banging her shins against stone steps and trying her best not to jar her injuries. 

They weaved up endless stairs, lit only by Elok’s single torch. He muttered viciously as they went, bitter curses toward his enemies, but Pidge didn’t listen. She felt like there was a cloud around her head. Her world had narrowed down to the stabbing pain that pinched like a vice against her lungs. She could only breathe in tiny, whistling gasps. 

Somewhere in the back of her mind, Pidge knew that wasn’t good. 

Elok dragged her up the stairs for an eternity, as far as she could tell, but at some point the air picked up a cool breeze. 

“Almost there,” he muttered, pulling her up the final few steps and forcing her forward along the stone path. Dazed, Pidge stumbled along beside him, staring blankly at the exit in front of them. She could see a sliver of starlight through the arched doorway. 

Just as Elok dragged her through the doorway, something hit him and he jerked forward. The sudden movement tore Pidge from his grip, flinging her to the ground. She skidded through the dirt, screwing her eyes shut and gasping through the pain. 

Arms grabbed her and held tight, bracing her gently against a warm torso. 

“Pidge!” a voice cried. Pidge managed to open her eyes just long enough to see Keith’s face swimming over her, open concern in his eyes. “Pidge, are you okay? We’ve got you. We’re here, don’t worry—” 

She tried to focus on Keith, but her gaze slid sideways despite her efforts. A few feet away, she could see Allura pinning Elok to the ground while Hunk aimed his blaster at his head. Their figures blurred as she watched, slipping away like sand through her fingers. 

“Pidge?” Keith said again, placing a hand on her cheek and directing her face toward his. She tried to listen, but the buzzing in her ears grew too loud to discern anything else. Every breath felt like fire. “ _Pidge_? Guys, Pidge is hurt—!” 

The world around her blurred, dim light fading to black as the static in her ears grew louder. 

Then there was nothing.

 

 

-

 

 

Shiro leapt from the Blue Lion the instant Lance landed, following the action on the ground with interest. 

“I’ve got Pidge!” reported Keith. 

“Bad guy’s down,” Hunk added, breathing heavily. “Allura has him pinned, but we could use those cuffs whenever you get here, Lance!” 

As Shiro landed on the rocky ground, he started to feel the tentative beginnings of victory. He could see Keith and Hunk by the light of their uniforms, standing near an old stone building that was one of many exits from the ancient underground tunnels. It had been Hunk’s idea to use BLIP technology in conjunction with the map that Xra Kesmit had sent them, which proved essential to determining where the Valpri leader planned to emerge.

Now, running toward his newly reunited team, Shiro couldn’t help the hope that began to swell in his heart 

Then Keith said, “Guys, Pidge is hurt!” and the hope came crashing down. 

He ran up on the group, noting that Allura and Hunk seemed to have the Valpri well secured before skidding to a stop next to Keith and Pidge. She was limp in his arms, bruises stark against her pale skin in the dim light of Keith’s armor. 

“What’s wrong?” Shiro asked, kneeling next to them. 

“She just passed out,” Keith rambled, laying her on the ground to give Shiro better access to examine her. “She was awake at first but not responsive, and she doesn’t seem to be breathing well—” 

“Here, give me some light,” Shiro requested, leaning over Pidge. 

As Keith activated the flashlight function on his suit, Shiro began his triage examination. Pidge had a number of minor cuts and bruises, but Shiro was more immediately concerned about the blue cast to her lips. Her breathing was shallow and uneven. 

“Her side felt weird,” Keith continued, gesturing to Pidge’s torso. 

Shiro quickly moved to the area indicated. After a few seconds of examination, he understood what had alarmed Keith. Several ribs on her right side were misshapen, and though Shiro couldn’t tell through her damp dress, he guessed she had some pretty severe bruising as well. 

Frowning, Shiro leaned close to Pidge’s mouth, tilting his ear to catch the sound of her breathing. After a few breaths, he heard a telltale gurgle in her throat, and his stomach dropped. 

“I think one of her ribs has punctured a lung,” Shiro said, a chill running down his spine. Without waiting, he reached for Pidge and gathered her gently in his arms, trying not to jostle her any more than necessary. “She could choke on her own blood. We have to get her to the Castle _now_.” 

Shiro stood, Pidge safe in his arms, and looked over at the rest of the team. Lance had arrived shortly after Shiro, a set of magnetic cuffs in hand, and had helped Hunk restrain the rebel Valpri while Allura held him down. Their immediate concern dealt with, the rest of the team looked over at him with worry. 

“Is he secure?” Shiro asked, fighting his urge to run immediately for the Black Lion. 

“As he can be,” Hunk replied, shrugging. He gestured to the cuffs, adding, “Pidge rigged these up to give a shock if someone’s fighting too much, so we have a failsafe. She based it on her bayard.” 

Reassured, Shiro nodded. Then, looking at Keith, he commanded, “Keith, you’re in charge down here. Notify the Valpri that we have one of the rebels and wait until they come to retrieve him. Allura, you’re with me. I don’t want to deal with any questions about who you are just yet.” 

Without any protest, Allura switched places with Lance, who grimly added his bayard to the threats pointed at the downed Valpri. Trusting the rest of his team to handle the situation, Shiro turned and ran for the Black Lion, Pidge held tightly in his arms. 

“Is she going to be all right?” Allura asked, keeping pace alongside him. Her voice hitched slightly, as though she trying to mask a stronger reaction. 

“I don’t know,” Shiro replied, words twisting unpleasantly in his stomach.

 

 

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In honor of season four coming out in TWO DAYS, I figured I'd post the next chapter so y'all can have YET ANOTHER CLIFFHANGER (kinda) before the show inevitably leaves us with even more. :P but hey, at least the paladins are here now! The final chapter (with ALL THE COMFORT and only a little bit of hurt this time) should be out next week.
> 
> ngl my favorite part in writing this chapter was Lance showing up near the end like he was just waiting for his fucking cue. legit I spent the entire time writing that section ready to be all like "and then a wild LANCE appears!"
> 
> additionally, though I have been remiss in thanking her earlier in the story, this chapter would not have been possible without my amazing beta MaliciousWays, who always points out when I'm making ALL THE ERRORS, so many thanks to her. <3 <3 <3
> 
> as always, if you liked it or hated it or anywhere in between, please let me know in the comments!


	5. Chapter 5

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“So Hunk and I just went down to your lab, dude. How the hell do you find anything down there? I swear, we were just looking for a screwdriver—” 

“A _quarfle_.” 

“What?” 

“I think the Alteans call it a _quarfle_.” 

“Whatever, Hunk, it’s a screwdriver. The point is, Pidge, your lab looks like a tornado made sweet, sweet love to a computer factory, you realize that, right? I’m gonna need you to wake up so you can explain yourself, young lady. What would your mother think about such a mess?” 

“Lance, I’ve seen your room. You have no right to talk.” 

“ _No one asked you_ , Keith!” 

Shiro smiled as he watched Lance and Keith devolve into familiar squabbling in front of the medical cryo-pods. Only one pod was currently in use, but condensation from the cold air inside fogged the glass just enough to blur the image. Hunk bent down to examine the status indicators on the front of the pod yet again, brow furrowing in concentration as the others bickered quietly behind him.

“Hey, I think her lung is probably healed up by now,” Hunk reported. “Her heart rate has been steady for the last quintant.” 

“Coran said it shouldn’t be too much longer,” Shiro replied. He stood further back from the others, resting against the wall by the door. “It’s mostly the head injury that’s adding on time now, like when Lance got hurt that first time.” 

“Not that it helped,” Lance said, rolling his eyes. 

“Yeah, you definitely still act brain-damaged,” Keith cut in quickly, smirking. 

“Wha— _no_ , that’s not what I meant,” argued Lance, making a face. “ _Rude_. See if I ever single-handedly save the day again, with comments like that—” 

“Single-handedly? You took _one shot_ —” 

“The shot that took out Sendak!”

“No, Pidge and I took out Sendak, you just distracted him.” 

“Of all the insensitive—!” Lance cried. Shiro couldn’t tell how much of his act was an exaggeration, exactly, but he thought he could see a glimpse of good humor in Lance’s eyes. Keith didn’t appear to notice, based on the increasingly frustrated expression on his face. “Do you hear this, Hunk? Do you hear how he maligns me?” 

“Hey, don’t involve me, I wasn’t even there.”

“It doesn’t matter,” Shiro interjected in the interest of keeping Keith from getting genuinely angry at Lance’s play-acting. “What did you mean about the pod not helping, Lance?” 

“Oh, Coran told me it can’t really work that delicately,” Lance explained, dropping his offended tone with ease. “It’ll fix big bleeds and stuff like that, but past that the pods mostly just keep you unconscious for the worst of it. I still had a headache for like a week after that whole mess.” 

Shiro looked over at the cryo-pod, where Pidge stood suspended in frozen animation. She looked peaceful, especially now that the pod had wiped the angry bruises from her face, but Shiro still couldn’t shake the image of her lying broken on the ground. 

The flight back to the Castle was nothing more than a blur in his memory, a harried rush of piloting mixed with concerned glimpses of Pidge limp in Allura’s arms. He couldn’t even remember getting to the medical bay. Allura had taken charge, cutting Pidge out of her ruined gown as Shiro helped Coran clean debris from her wounds. By the time they’d prepared her for the healing pod, her blood pressure had dropped precariously low. 

The memory of shutting Pidge in the pod was stark and clear in his mind. Her hair hung limply alongside her pale face, tiny crystals still caught in the tangles. The bruises had looked even more obvious in the unforgiving light of the ship. 

Even after three quintants in the pod, every time Shiro looked at Pidge, he couldn’t help but remember the feeling of her in his arms, injured and unmoving. The bruises had faded away, bones re-knit into their proper shape, and scrapes stitched back together, but Shiro could still see specks of dried blood on her lips. It was a cold reminder of how close she’d been to suffocating.

Every now and then, Shiro would catch the other paladins looking at Pidge’s pod with the same dark expression on their faces. Coran was better about maintaining a professional mask, but he hovered in the medical bay often enough that Shiro suspected he had similar feelings. 

He hadn’t seen much of Allura since the hurried rush back to the Castle. She had insisted that Shiro, Coran, and later Lance all spend some time in the pods as well, given their own close call with the explosions. By the time Shiro had re-emerged one quintant later, Allura had sequestered herself on the bridge, leaving the paladins to monitor the medical bay until Coran was back on his feet. 

As far as Shiro knew, she hadn’t been back to visit since Pidge’s rescue. 

He frowned at the thought, but the sound of voices outside the room distracted him. 

“They’re coming, guys,” Shiro said, interrupting whatever conversation the other paladins had moved onto while he’d zoned out. 

Moments later, the door slid open. Coran, newly returned from his trip to Valpri, led Xra Kesmit and Xrie Kloona into the room. They were dressed much more conservatively than when Shiro had last seen them, with the only glint of jewelry being Xra Kesmit’s opal medallion. Both Valpri looked around the room with interest, but Shiro could tell when Xra Kesmit first caught glimpse of Pidge’s pod by the way his shoulders abruptly slumped. He gave no sign if he noticed that she looked slightly different than the Altean princess he remembered, though Hunk shifted awkwardly in front of the pod nonetheless. 

“She’s healing,” Shiro said before anything else, reading the worry in Xra Kesmit’s black eyes. “I know you’re concerned, but she’s going to be okay.” 

Xra Kesmit looked up at him. His face twitched into an expression Shiro couldn’t quite discern, but he got the impression the Valpri king was relieved. Quietly, he replied, “I already said this to Sir Coran, Paladin Shiro, but I wanted to personally thank you all for your help with the DEXSAI threat. And—” 

“Xra,” began Xrie Kloona weakly, her expression pinched. 

Undaunted, Xra Kesmit added, “ _And_ to apologize for the difficulties you suffered while visiting our home. The honor of the Valpri has been tarnished in letting our guests come to harm. Especially given the trouble that Princess Allura faced. As leader of the Valpri, I offer my sincerest apologies for all the troubles you have faced.” 

Shiro kept watching Xra Kesmit, but he could see Xrie Kloona shifting uncomfortably from the corner of his eye. He resisted the urge to frown in confusion, wondering idly if he’d missed something in Xra Kesmit’s apology that would explain her open discomfort. 

But then Xra Kesmit continued. 

“In recompense for our poor hospitality, I have thought deeply about our relationship with the Galra empire,” Xra Kesmit said. Shiro’s eyes widened as he continued, “Given their willingness to aid our enemies, I no longer wish to have a trade relationship with the Galra. In fact, I have officially decreed that the Valpri will join the Voltron Alliance.” 

Stunned silence followed the announcement. 

Shiro could hardly comprehend the magnitude of Xra Kesmit’s decision. At best, they had hoped the Valpri would agree to share information regarding Galra movements, but to actually join the Voltron Alliance was a monumental step. It meant turning from earning money off the Galra Empire to actively resisting, potentially bringing Galra forces down on their own kingdom. Now Shiro understood why Xrie Kloona looked so disconcerted – to do such a thing in the middle of a civil war was practically unthinkable. 

But Xra Kesmit faced them with conviction in his eyes and Shiro couldn’t help but be impressed by his courage, even if he wasn’t sure the young king was entirely prepared for the realities of war with the Galra. 

Before anyone could say anything, a new voice cut into the room. 

“I am very happy to hear that, Xra Kesmit,” Allura said. She stood in the doorway and regarded their guests with a sincere smile. From her lovely dress to the elegant diadem that graced her forehead, she looked every inch a princess, though Shiro mostly noticed the lingering bags under her eyes. “Unfortunately, before we can accept your offer of help, I do believe there are a few things we need to clear up.” 

Xra Kesmit took in Allura’s appearance with shock written across his features. His eyes darted from the diadem on Allura’s head to Pidge’s healing pod, clearly confused. Slowly, he said, “I’m not sure I understand.” 

“My name is Princess Allura of Altea,” Allura explained. “The _real_ Princess Allura. The young woman you met was Pidge, the Green Paladin of Voltron. She agreed to act as me during our visit.” 

Xra Kesmit gaped at her, at a momentary loss for words. 

“But,” Xra Kesmit began, glancing back and forth between Allura and Pidge again. “Why would you send someone else?” 

“A _paladin_?” Xrie Kloona asked. Rather than share Xra Kesmit’s innocent bewilderment, she stared fiercely at Allura and rose to her full height, indignation clear in her stance. “You would send a non-royal to meet under the banner of _metzri-pat_? That is a sacred Valpri tradition! And you would disgrace the royal name with an alien _commoner_?” 

Shiro could see a flash of fury in Allura’s eyes as she stared at Xrie Kloona, her dignified stance the only measure of control against her building anger. Coran froze in his place by the door while the rest of the paladins glanced awkwardly around the room. Hunk simply stepped closer to Pidge’s pod, but Keith shifted onto his toes in a familiar battle stance, clearly reacting to the implied aggression in her words. Shiro was also at a loss for how to respond. Even if they took issue with Xrie Kloona’s insulting tone, it wasn’t like they could explain that Pidge had disguised herself as Princess Allura in order to give Allura freedom to spy on the Valpri. 

Luckily, before Allura could snap back a potentially regrettable reply, Lance stepped forward. He extended his hands in front of him in an overly exaggerated gesture of reverence, giving Shiro the brief, horrifying worry that he was about to start mocking them. Memories of Lance’s impression of Iverson flashed through his mind. 

“Xrie Kloona, your grace, please let me explain,” Lance began, his tone smooth and sincere. “Princess Allura didn’t wish to deceive you. The entire thing was because the paladins insisted on it.” 

Shiro stared in silence, frozen as he waited to see where Lance was going with this. From his position by the door, he couldn’t do anything more than watch unless he wanted to blow Lance’s cover. Keith, standing behind the Valpri royals at the far wall, had no such restrictions and stared at Lance as though he had lost his mind. 

Xrie Kloona regarded Lance with a cool stare, but her role as a guest apparently tempered her manners, as she replied, “What do you mean, Paladin Lance?” 

“Well, on our planet, there is a strict policy against sending a member of the royal family into an unknown situation without using a double. We were worried for Princess Allura’s safety and insisted that Pidge be sent instead, just in case,” Lance explained. 

“A double?” Xra Kesmit asked. “In case of attacks, you mean?” 

“Yes,” Lance said. “It’s a sacred Earth custom called the Padme Protocol. It helped to protect Queen Amidala during the infamous Star Wars.” 

It took a few moments for Shiro to get it, but once he did, he needed every ounce of military bearing in his soul to keep a straight face. Hunk didn’t fare so well, and hastily turned to examine Pidge’s healing pod to hide the near seizure of laughter that rippled through his shoulders. Behind the Valpri, Keith was staring at Lance with such an open look of incredulity that Shiro very nearly broke ranks from that alone. 

As though he didn’t notice their reaction, Lance continued, “From our view, we wanted to do everything we could to protect the royal line of Altea. I’m sure you can understand our concerns.” 

Shiro had a sudden crystal-clear image of Lance as a child lying to avoid punishment for whatever crazy shenanigans he’d created, and felt a brief bout of sympathy for his parents. That level of skillful deception had to take practice. 

Xrie Kloona still looked dubious, but Xra Kesmit replied, “Given what occurred, we can hardly fault you for taking precautions.” He looked over at Allura with a bit of trepidation before asking, “Does… does that mean that everything I spoke about with Princess – I mean, with Paladin Pidge – was a lie?” 

“Certainly not,” Allura said, smiling fondly at him as she rapidly adjusted to Lance's explanation. “In order to adhere to our paladins’ Padme Protocol, I trained Pidge myself to be able to accurately convey Altean customs. However, now that everything has been cleared up, I would be happy to talk about Altean culture with you. Perhaps we can do so after we discuss the Voltron Alliance?” 

Xra Kesmit brightened, glancing over at his aunt with excitement. The older Valpri still looked reserved, but she gave a barely perceivable nod and Xra Kesmit looked back to Allura. “That would be wonderful, Princess Allura. I am happy to finally make your acquaintance.” 

“And I, you, Xra Kesmit,” Allura replied. She gestured out the door, saying, “Would you like a tour of the Castle of Lions? Coran and I would love to go over Altean history and culture with you on the way.” 

Little more needed to be said, and Allura and Coran soon led Xra Kesmit and Xrie Kloona out the door, the sound of Coran’s storytelling already echoing down the hall. The door to the medical bay slid shut with a distinct click. 

As one, every paladin turned to stare at Lance. 

“What?” Lance asked, holding his arms out in a helpless gesture. “It _worked_ , didn’t it?” 

“The Padme Protocol?” Shiro asked, with an exasperated air. 

“Star Wars, Lance?” Hunk exclaimed, doubling over as he snorted with laughter. “ _Star Wars?”_

“Who the hell is Queen Amidala?” Keith asked, with such clear confusion that they all turned to stare at him instead. 

“You… have never seen Star Wars?” Hunk asked, with the same tone that someone might use for a person who has never breathed air. 

Keith gave all of them a blank look. 

“Okay, no,” Lance declared, walking over to Keith and grabbing him by the arm. “Nope. No, no, no. We are not letting this stand. Let’s go, we’re grabbing Pidge’s hard drive and fixing this tragic error in existence—” 

“Wait, is it a TV show or something—?” 

“Oh my _god_ , Keith!” 

Shiro just leaned back against the wall, watching and laughing as Lance dragged Keith out of the room, indignant ranting clear through the door even as it slid shut. Hunk was still snickering as he turned to follow, glancing at Shiro with amusement written across his face. “I think we’ve just found our plans for the next couple of days. Wanna watch with us? I bet we could grab a bunch of snacks and hide out in here with Pidge’s laptop.” 

Shiro regarded Hunk with a fond smile, though he soon found himself looking back over to the healing pod. Pidge remained frozen within, her stats unchanging as the pod slowly worked to heal hidden injuries. Shiro couldn’t help the brief pang of worry in his heart, aching like a memory of an old injury. 

Hunk followed his gaze, a similar flicker of concern flashing across his face before he managed a small grin. “Don’t worry,” Hunk said, patting Shiro on the shoulder. “She hates the prequels anyway.” 

“Oh, yeah?” Shiro asked. “Must be a family thing. Matt had a whole rant prepared.” 

“Pidge has Powerpoints.” 

“Of course she does.”

 

 

 

-

 

 

 

Cold was the first thing Pidge felt when she awoke. 

It settled deep into her bones, the sort of chill that lingers for ages and requires a long stay by the fireplace to banish. Even before she opened her eyes, Pidge could feel her teeth threatening to chatter. Warm air flowed in from outside the pod, but goosebumps rippled down her skin nonetheless. 

“Pidge, you’re awake!” 

“How do you feel?” 

“You were in there _forever_ , we’re almost done with the original series!” 

She blinked her eyes open to see the blurry semi-circle of her team around her. She lifted one arm to rub the haze from her eyes and was put off by the heavy way sleep still clung to her limbs. 

“Okay, guys, back off a bit until she wakes up,” another voice said, and when Pidge’s vision cleared, she just saw Shiro leaning in front of her. He smiled warmly and said, “Coran wants to do a post-pod exam. Do you think you’re awake enough to make it to the table?” 

Pidge glanced at the exam table, located just five feet behind Shiro, and then gave Shiro a scornful look. 

Shiro laughed and replied, “Okay, that’s what I thought.” He held out a hand to help her out of the pod, which she took despite her pride. Her legs still felt numb and shaky beneath her. 

Hunk stepped up to assist on the other side, though the feeling in her limbs began to return as she walked. However, the air in the room was losing its warm edge, and Pidge could feel herself shivering as she climbed up on the table. Coran passed her a warm blanket, which she gratefully wrapped around her shoulders. 

Despite her apparently long time in the pod, she still felt sleepy. Worse, now that she was moving, her head throbbed with pain just shy of a migraine. 

At least she could breathe now. That was a plus. 

The last thing she remembered was Elok dragging her up the stairs. Pidge knew something had occurred after that, but her memories seemed weighed down with the same heaviness affecting her limbs. Prompted by the thought, Pidge asked, “What happened?” 

“We got the bad guys,” Lance answered as Coran stepped forward to begin his examination. While Coran shone a light in her ears and mouth, Lance elaborated, “Well, the main bad guy, at least. All thanks to my timely arrival with the handcuffs, of course.” 

“You weren’t even there until the end,” Keith said, with a familiar indignant tone that Pidge had come to associate with their bickering. 

“Yeah, pretty sure that was Allura,” Hunk added, more fondly. 

Before Lance could argue back, Shiro interjected, “It was a team effort. Besides, Lance and I were plenty busy with tracking.” He turned back to Pidge, who was watching the exchange sleepily as Coran prodded her ribs. “Everything’s settled now. We can give you a full debrief once you’re back on your feet.” 

“Take a deep breath for me, would you, Pidge?” Coran asked once Shiro finished, whipping out a strange-looking device that she suspected was an Altean stethoscope. He placed it on her chest as she followed his command, adding, “Hold the breath for a bit.” 

She sucked in air, fighting past the minor discomfort in her chest. It felt tight around her sternum, almost like an itch, and she couldn’t hold it for long before she broke off coughing. Wincing, she asked, “Is that normal?” 

“There might be a bit of scar tissue left over from the wound,” Coran replied with a small frown, voice losing a bit of its lighthearted air. Pidge knitted her brow, concerned, and he hastily said, “Completely normal for an injury like this, though. The cryo-pods help to accelerate the healing process, but that doesn’t eliminate its need entirely. Give me a moment and I’ll see if I can find some gel to help with breathing at night.” 

He hurried back to a set of cabinets in the corner as Pidge rubbed her chest anxiously with the heel of her hand. It didn’t feel like much, but just knowing that her lungs were still shaky made her nervous.

“It’s okay, Pidge,” Shiro said, apparently picking up on her worry. “It’ll probably just be like recovering from a cold. And we’re all stocked to help you take it easy.” 

“Oh, yeah, we’re in the middle of a Star Wars marathon, because _someone—_ ” Lance openly gestured to Keith— “hasn’t ever seen them, like some kind of recluse—” 

“They’re not even accurate!” Keith protested. “Why would I watch a movie about space when the weapons don’t even make scientific sense?” 

“That’s so not the point!” 

“Yeah, man, Star Wars is a classic, I gotta side with Lance on this one,” Hunk agreed. 

“The purple light saber alone should be 3,000 degrees hotter that the surface of the _sun_!” Keith protested with his arms spread wide. “How is it possible for Mace Windu to fight with it? _How_?” 

“Through the _force_ , Keith!” 

Beside her, Shiro just laughed, covering his face with his hand. Pidge felt a smile twitch on her face from the antics, nerves settling slightly as Coran made his way back to the table with a couple packets in his hands.

“It is a fairly engaging piece of fiction, I will admit that,” Coran said, setting the supplies down. It was mainly to Pidge, since the rest of the paladins had descended into their argument. Continuing on, Coran said, “You do seem to have healed up all right, but you’ll probably still be a bit sore for awhile. How’s the head?” 

“Hurts,” Pidge murmured. She yawned and felt a twinge in her side like she’d pulled a muscle, but it was nothing compared to the agony from before. “It’s hard to tell if I’m sore or just sleepy, though.” 

“Ah, yes, the post cryo-pod cramps, we used to call them,” Coran replied, his mustache twitching as he grinned. “I remember once my grandfather collapsed within minutes of exiting the pod. We thought for sure his broken leg hadn’t healed, but it turned out he had just fallen asleep again, right there on the floor!” 

Pidge managed a small grin, staring tiredly at Coran’s exaggerated expressions. Behind him, Lance and Keith continued to quarrel about the importance of Star Wars—“It even has a stupid name! It’s not like the stars are fighting.” / “How _dare_ you.”—while Shiro and Hunk attempted to play referee in spite of their clear amusement. 

Pidge tried to follow the debate for a few moments, but exhaustion clouded her thoughts. She was still shivering, the cold set deep into her bones despite the warm blanket Coran had given her. Pain shifted like sand in her head every time she moved. Even Coran’s bright tones couldn’t banish her lethargy. 

“Everyone,” a voice cut in with a tone of authority. Pidge blinked up at Allura, who she hadn’t even noticed standing in the back of the medical bay. “I think it would be best if I escort Pidge to get cleaned up now. We can meet you in the lounge for the rest of your documentaries about the War of Stars.” 

“They’re not documentaries, Allura,” Lance began, sounding pained, but Shiro interrupted before he could explain further. 

“We’ll meet you in there,” Shiro said, already guiding Lance and Keith toward the door. 

“We’ll probably be able to start Episode 7 by the time you’re done,” Hunk said to Pidge as he followed, grinning brightly. “I know BB-8 is your favorite.” 

She returned his smile, albeit with less energy, and gave him a small wave as he left. Allura stepped forward, assisting Coran as he helped her off the exam table. She stared down at Pidge with fondness, though something seemed a bit off about her smile. Pidge frowned in confusion, but the weird look was gone in a blink. 

“I think a hot shower and some regular clothes would do you well,” Allura said, already guiding her toward the door. “Does that sound good?” 

Yawning again, Pidge tried to rub some of the goosebumps away through the blanket around her shoulders. “Sounds great.” 

“I’ll prepare a hot mug of _shenthii_ ,” Coran said, patting her gently on the shoulder. “It should help with that lingering headache you have.” 

It didn’t take long to get to Allura’s room, though Pidge felt like she was shuffling along like a zombie rather than walking most of the time. Her pounding head grew a bit more manageable as the numbness faded from the muscles in her neck. Allura didn’t say much, keeping a firm hand on Pidge’s shoulder as she led her down familiar white corridors to her chamber. 

“I thought this would be easier than going down three decks to your room,” Allura said as they entered her room. “I can get you some clean clothes for after your shower.” 

“No dresses?” Pidge asked, glancing up at her with a mild smirk. Allura had cleaned the scattered remains of their dress-up days from her bed, but two full boxes of old clothes were stacked in the corner awaiting their return to storage. 

There was a brief pause before Allura let out a soft laugh and replied, “I think we can go without dresses for a bit.” 

Allura led her into a large bathroom, where Pidge caught sight of herself in the mirror. The large gray blanket covered most of her healing pod outfit, but her appearance was startlingly disheveled. Her hair lay limp and tangled, tiny crystals and the green ribbon still interwoven between its locks, and her skin was worryingly pale underneath smears of green make up. Pidge stared at her reflection with wide eyes exacerbated both by smudges of lingering eyeliner and gray hallows of exhaustion. 

She could see Allura following her gaze in the mirror, the princess looking similarly tired but much more put-together. In the warm light of the bathroom, the difference between them was stark. 

“Come here,” Allura said, leading her toward a plush chair in front of the vanity. As Pidge sat down, glancing in confusion at the shower entrance in the opposite direction, Allura simply said, “It’ll be easier to clean up if I fix your hair first, I think.” 

Pidge wasn’t sure how to react to the proposal. Coming from any of the guys, offering to help her clean up would probably have felt a bit too much like coddling for her tastes, but Allura whipped out the brush with a steadfast practicality that Pidge couldn’t debate. 

Instead, she sank back against the soft chair, still shivering as she gripped the blanket tighter around her shoulders. Pidge closed her eyes, letting the heavy exhaustion take over as Allura began to negotiate the tangled mess on her head. Allura’s hands were deft and gentle, and Pidge couldn’t help but harken back to countless memories of her mother humming as she twisted braids and ponytails out of much longer hair. Even the chill in her bones felt warmer at the thought. 

Before she knew it, Allura stepped in front of her and held out a damp sheet of white cloth. “For your face,” she said with a soft smile. A small collection of gemstones lay alongside the emerald green ribbon on the counter in front of them. 

Pidge took the damp tissue with a puzzled glance, and Allura explained, “It’s for the makeup. It’ll just smear in the shower otherwise.” 

It only took a moment to wipe off the smudged makeup. Pidge looked up once she was finished and blinked in surprise at her reflection. She still looked tired and pale, but her hair was back to its ordinary loose curls and her skin was shiny and free of cosmetics. 

“Thanks,” she said to Allura. Her voice sounded softer than she intended, her words flat and uninspired, but Pidge didn’t quite know how to express the combination of comfort and homesickness in her heart. She hadn’t missed her mother this much in ages, but even so, it didn’t hurt as much as it usually did. 

Allura smiled at her, though it echoed with the same strange pain as before. Before Pidge could ask about it, however, Allura was pulling her upright and guiding her toward the shower. 

“I’ll fetch you something comfortable for when you’re finished,” she said, and then she was gone. 

Pidge blinked after her, confused by the exchange, but a renewed shiver sent her into the shower without another thought. The hot water felt like an instant balm on her cold bones, and she stood under the water for at least five minutes just appreciating its warmth. Eventually, she found a collection of beauty products and managed to remember enough Altean to discern a few bottles she could use.

By the time she finished, Pidge was feeling much more awake and refreshed. She rubbed water from her hair before wrapping the thick towel around her torso and stepping out of the shower. In the mirror, a plain-faced, pink-cheeked girl stared back at her with damp hair already starting to curl at the ends, and Pidge smiled at the familiar sight. 

She quietly made her way back into the main room. Allura was sitting on the bed and staring down at a pile of clothing in her hands. Her mouth was twisted into a frown, eyes edged in red, and Pidge froze as she stepped out, blinking in surprise. 

However, the slight movement caught Allura’s attention. She smiled up at Pidge, pained look banished to memory, and said, “Here, I found a set of my old pajamas. They’re probably a bit long, but I imagine they’ll fit better than the paladin pajamas from your room.” 

Undeterred by Allura’s sudden change, Pidge frowned at her. “Are you okay, Allura?”

“Of course I am, Pidge. Especially now that you’re awake,” Allura replied smoothly. A slight reddish tinge around her eyes was the only remaining evidence of her previous mood, and she held the clothes out to Pidge like a shield. “Here, let’s see if these fit okay. The others are waiting to start the next part of your Star Wars movies, since Hunk said it’s your favorite.” 

Pidge eyed Allura as she took the pajamas, not buying her act but unsure how to get past the cheerful denial. “Thanks,” she finally replied, turning back to the bathroom. It irked her to leave the conversation unfinished, but her head still throbbed and exhaustion sat heavy in her bones, urging her toward the easier path. 

The pajamas were a simple tunic and pants in dark purple cloth that felt as thick as flannel, and she only needed to roll up the sleeves a couple times to make them serviceable. Allura offered her a pair of fuzzy socks along with her glasses when she emerged, still maintaining a happy mask, and Pidge opted to follow her back to the lounge without further comment. 

Coran and the other paladins were already waiting, gathered around a large repurposed screen on a collection of borrowed chairs and one large sofa. The screen was hooked up to her laptop through a series of various adaptors that Pidge and Hunk had rigged up months ago for this very purpose. A collection of snacks covered a wide coffee table in front of the circle of seats, and from the looks of it, the rest of the group had already started in on the refreshments.

“Hey, Pidge is back!” Lance cheered as she and Allura entered, raising his arms in a victory cheer. He was squished between Hunk and the arm of the large sofa, the large blue blanket from his room covering both of them. “And you look normal again!” 

Pidge grinned at him. “Showers are amazing.”

“Oh good, we can finally start,” Keith said, sitting on the floor and leaning against the side of a squishy armchair, where Shiro was lounging with a bowl of purple chips in his lap. On the other side of the room, Coran was rustling through the fridge. “These two wouldn’t let us watch anything until you were here.” 

“We got your back, Pidge,” Hunk said, with an exaggerated wink. He held out a large, steaming mug of tea – the pain medicine Coran had promised, she assumed – and she smiled gratefully at him. She clamored up and sat beside him on the sofa, taking the mug from his hands and dragging the blanket over to cover her as well. Allura sat in the remaining space beside her. 

“How are you feeling?” Shiro asked as Keith leaned forward to press play on the laptop. 

Pidge shrugged as she took a sip of the medicinal tea. It tasted a bit like mint. “Head still hurts, but I can breathe again, so overall I’d say it’s an improvement.” 

Beside her, Pidge felt Allura tense up, and she briefly regretted her blunt phrasing. The other paladins seemed to get her morbid humor and laughed, but Pidge got the impression her close call had struck a little too close to home. She remembered when Lance had nearly died from the explosion in the ship, how scared she’d been, and managed a rueful smile. 

“I’ll be fine,” she assured them, before sinking back into the couch to look at the screen. “Especially after some Star Wars.” 

Obligingly, Coran dimmed the lights and she watched familiar words scroll across the screen. Despite her fondness for the movie, her earlier exhaustion only grew stronger, especially after the tea made her headache fade to a dull roar. As the movie continued, she found herself leaning against Hunk, comforted by the familiar scent of sugar that always lingered around him from his experiments in the kitchen. The rest of the team watched the movie with occasional questions and commentary, which only encouraged the continuation of Lance and Keith’s apparent battle over the series. 

She fell asleep to the sound of Rey and Finn stealing the Millennium Falcon as the rest of her team joked around her, feeling more at home than she had in a long while.

 

 

-

 

 

_Champion struck, blood splattering across the ground, and the coliseum roared its approval. The noise rattled his bones, shaking down to the ground._

_The enemy was down but still moving._

_He walked over to finish it, purple light glowing from his arm. He reeled back and stabbed forward, just as his prey turned—_

_Matt stared at him on the ground, eyes wide and terrified, and Champion stumbled back in horror._

_He blinked, and suddenly it was Pidge._

_She stared at the sky, unmoving, lips blue and edged in blood._

_The crowd screamed in victory as Shiro cried out—_

Shiro gasped, sitting upright in bed. 

The room was dark around him, lit only by the dim blue running lights along the baseboards. He could feel sweat cooling rapidly on his forehead. For a long moment, he stared at nothing, his breath rattling unsteadily in his chest. The raucous applause from the Galra crowd echoed in his ears, lingering even when the stark memory of the nightmare had faded. 

He took a deep breath, then another, concentrating on the feeling of soft sheets under his good hand. He was in the Castle of Lions. He was safe. 

It took a few more breaths for his heart rate to calm down, but soon Shiro was feeling steady enough to look around. The clock on the wall showed it was early in the morning, but just late enough that he could justify staying up. He immediately swung his legs to the floor, grateful for the excuse to avoid sleep. 

He’d had variations of nightmares about his time as Champion, but over the last week, they’d increasingly morphed to feature Pidge as well. It didn’t surprise him— Keith had been the first paladin to feature in his nightmares, eyes empty and body broken, though Shiro had seen them all at one point or another—but it didn’t make the dreams any easier to bear. 

Shiro dressed in the dark, throwing on his lounging clothes despite the needling voice in his mind urging him to wear his armor just in case. He ignored the prods, focusing on the fact that Allura had deliberately set a peaceful course during Pidge’s recovery. _We’re safe here. There are no Galra. There are no enemies. We’re safe_. 

The mantra stuck, even if Shiro didn’t quite believe it. 

He made his way out into the hall, without any plan for his destination other than walking until his restless energy went away. He went down to the Black Lion and spent some time double-checking the gears—still perfectly oiled, since he’d just done maintenance yesterday—and then meandered through the library. He could only read a handful of Altean words, rendering the visit mostly moot, but it was still nice to walk through the shelves even though everything was digitized. He missed the smell of books from Earth libraries. 

Eventually, his wandering took him up the bridge. The ship was on autopilot at the moment, but Shiro knew that soon Coran would be waking up to run the morning diagnostics on the equipment and confirm their course. He examined the charts himself and didn’t see anything amiss. 

He was just about to head down to the kitchens when a sound from above caught his ear. Shiro paused, looking over to the ladder that led to the observatory above the bridge. After a few moments of silence, he heard the sound again—very faint music was drifting down from the open hatch. 

A small part of him went on high alert, warning against the unknown sound, but Shiro forced himself to stay calm. The noise didn’t sound threatening. In fact, it sounded almost familiar. 

He climbed up the ladder with soft steps. As the loft came into view, he easily determined the source of the sound. Pidge’s laptop was propped open on the floor, cheerful music playing as animated characters danced through palm trees. The girl herself was curled up in a pile of blankets nearby, propped against the corner. The glare from the screen reflected off her glasses. 

Shiro pulled himself up, drawing Pidge’s attention. For a brief moment, they both just stared at each other, and then Shiro asked, “What are you doing up so early?”

“What are _you_ doing up?” Pidge countered, every inch a little sister.

“Couldn’t sleep,” Shiro replied. Pidge just stared at him, one eyebrow arched knowingly, and Shiro quietly amended, “Nightmare. You?” 

“I honestly just couldn’t sleep,” Pidge said. At Shiro’s look, she added, “No, really. All I’ve been doing this week is resting. My room is making me stir-crazy. At least up here I can look at the stars.” 

She gestured to the ceiling, which was made of some sort of metallic glass that looked out into the expanse of space above the Castle of Lions. Unlike the screens on the bridge, there was no way to digitally manipulate the view, making it the largest window they had into space. 

“The others are going to start calling it the Pigeon’s Nest if you stay up here too long,” Shiro warned as he climbed up into the small space. It was larger than most crow’s nests he’d seen, but fitting more than a handful of people could be a squeeze.

“Good, maybe I can hide things up here so people stop stealing my stuff,” Pidge murmured, though her tone held little bite. Shiro walked over to sit next to her, leaning against the back wall and staring out at the starry black sky. Pidge fell quiet, arms hooked around her knees and chin tucked into the crevice it created, watching her movie with only her glasses visible over the tops of her arms. 

Shiro watched with her for a while, recognizing the character of Moana as she sung about sailing away. Once the song ended, he asked, “How’s your head feeling?” 

“Mostly better,” Pidge replied, shifting her stance so her voice wasn’t muffled. She glanced over at him, adding, “I still get dizzy sometimes, but it doesn’t happen as much now. Coran even said I could start training again soon.” 

“Against the Gladiator?” Shiro said, frowning. 

“Maybe?” At Shiro’s skeptical glare, she amended, “Okay, not the _Gladiator_ , but other stuff. Running and calisthenics or whatever.” 

“First you need to get back on a normal sleep cycle,” replied Shiro. 

“You’re one to talk.” 

“I’m ten years older than you,” Shiro reminded her, “And I have experience with different sleep schedules. You’re still growing.” 

Pidge rolled her eyes at his chiding. “Shouldn’t you be setting a better example, then? If you’re so much older and wiser?” 

“I’m telling you what to do right now,” Shiro argued, though he couldn’t help but be amused by her teasing. 

“Leaders lead by example, Shiro,” Pidge threw back. 

“Ha, I know where you got that one from.” 

Pidge grinned. “Yeah, and Dad got it from a motivational poster Mom bought him at Target. Don’t let him tell you any different.” 

Shiro laughed and allowed the statement to slide without comment, as he let himself be distracted by the movie’s colorful animation. After a few moments, he said, “Y’know, you did a good job on the mission. Before the rebel group attacked, that is. They all bought you as the Altean princess without question.” 

Pidge didn’t look at him, but she tucked her chin into her blanket as if to hide her embarrassment. Slightly muffled, she said, “I still think I looked silly.” 

“You didn’t,” Shiro replied. “You looked very elegant and—how did you put it? Princess-y. I showed Allura some of the footage my uniform camera caught and she said she was almost convinced you were Altean.” 

Pidge turned to stare at him with horrified eyes. “You filmed it?” 

“Only a little bit,” Shiro said. At her petulant frown, he teased, “What? These are _cherished memories_ , Pidge—” 

“Ugh, I hate you,” she griped, burrowing further into her nest of blankets. Shiro patted her shoulder in mock consolation, grinning as he looked back at the movie. Distracted by the entrance of Maui on the screen, he almost missed it when Pidge asked, “Hey, Shiro?” 

“Yeah?” 

“Can I ask you a question?” 

When he turned to look, Pidge was hunched up again, arms tight around her knees. Frowning, he said, “Sure, what’s up?” 

“Is Allura mad at me?” 

Shiro blinked in surprise. “What on Earth would she be mad at you for?” 

“I don’t know, ruining her dress? Or maybe because I made up all those facts about Altea?” At Shiro’s incredulous look, Pidge said, “I don’t know why she’s mad, but she’s been avoiding me all week.” 

“She has been pretty busy on the bridge,” Shiro suggested, though he had a sinking suspicion he knew exactly what was bothering Allura. 

“She always leaves whenever I come in a room,” Pidge countered with the confidence of a scientist. “Every time I try to talk to her, she suddenly has some urgent thing to do. She hasn’t even been coming to dinner.” 

Pidge wasn’t alone in noticing Allura’s strange behavior—both Lance and Hunk had pointed it out the day before, and Shiro could tell that Coran was concerned, though the older man kept his own counsel. However, Shiro hadn’t considered the idea that Pidge would see the sudden avoidance as a sign of ire. 

“I don’t think Allura’s mad at you, Pidge,” Shiro said. “I think she’s just upset about what happened.” 

“Really?” Pidge asked, brow furrowing. “I mean, yeah, it was scary, but… we won. We even got the Valpri to join the Voltron Alliance. That’s huge!” 

“Yeah, but you were badly hurt,” replied Shiro, feeling an echo of his own fears against his words. “It really scared Allura to see you like that. Especially considering the whole plan was her idea. I think she probably feels guilty, Pidge.” 

“That’s dumb,” Pidge said. “It’s not like anyone knew the DEXSAI were there. She even warned you guys as soon as she found out.” 

“Doesn’t change the fact that you could have died, Pidge,” Shiro said quietly, giving her a heavy stare. “It scared all of us. Allura probably just needs a little time to process it.” 

“I guess,” Pidge said, tone pensive. “Don’t get me wrong, I was scared too. I just—” 

She broke off, but Shiro prodded, “Yeah?” 

“I don’t know, I thought I’d see if Allura wanted to watch more princess movies or something,” said Pidge, sounding a bit abashed by the notion. “I didn’t like trying on all the fancy dresses, but she was pretty fun to hang out with other than that.” 

“Just give her some time, Pidge,” Shiro said. “I’m sure she’ll come around soon enough.” 

Pidge managed a small smile, not quite convinced, but she let the matter drop as the story on the screen turned dark with luminescent monsters. They watched the movie in mutual silence, enjoying the familiar characters and bright colors after such a trying mission. Shiro spent half the time looking up at the stars, still appreciating the sight of the vast universe overhead despite all he’d been through.

It wasn’t long before Shiro heard the sound of soft snores coming from the pile of blankets beside him. Despite her claims of restlessness, Pidge was slumped against the wall, glasses tilted awkwardly across her face as she slept. 

As gently as he could, Shiro urged her into a sleeping position, piling some of the blankets beneath her head to act as a makeshift pillow. The crow’s nest was as safe a place as any to rest, and Shiro knew Pidge was still recovering, regardless of her intent. 

He left as quietly as he could, his steps masked by the quiet singing onscreen.

 

 

 

-

 

 

 

She knew that Shiro advised giving Allura more time, but when another week passed and nothing had changed, Pidge decided she was officially _over it_ and made her way to Allura’s room. 

It was a bit tricky knocking with her arms full of computer equipment and bags, but she managed. 

Allura answered after a moment, blinking in surprise at the sight of Pidge. The older woman was still in her normal dress given the early hour, but she had pulled her hair back to sit in a casual knot atop her head. 

“Oh, good evening, Pidge,” Allura said, with the same faint echo of false brightness that Pidge had been hearing for the past two weeks. Now that she knew to look for it, Pidge could see the worried crease in Allura’s eyes, like she was fretting over something. “Is something wrong with the Castle? I don’t believe we’re changing course until tomorrow.” 

“Do you want to watch a movie?” Pidge asked bluntly. 

“What?” Allura replied, knitting her brow. 

Shifting anxiously under the weight of her things, Pidge repeated, “Do you want to watch a movie with me? Or something? I brought my laptop and hard drive.” 

Allura stared at her, a shadow of a frown on her face, “Oh, I don’t—” 

“I know what happened on Valpri freaked you out,” Pidge interrupted, trying to fight the urge to babble as she saw Allura’s eyes go wide, shades of alarm clear on her face. “I get it. It kind of freaked me out too. But it wasn’t anyone’s fault—well, okay, it was the DEXSAI’s fault, but we already knew that—and anyway, I’m completely healed up now, and I wanted to let you know that no one blames you for anything. I definitely don’t. It was a good plan, and it totally worked, and no one could have known what we were walking into. And, well—I liked hanging out with you when we were preparing for the mission, and, um—” 

Allura blinked, clearly taken aback by her rambling. Her concerned expression faded into something rather fond. With a flash of a smile, she prompted, “Yes?” 

“My hair is getting kind of long and I was debating if I needed to cut it, but then I thought I could just pull it back,” Pidge said. “You mentioned that you used to braid hair with your cousins, right? Would you show me? We can watch another Disney movie. I brought snacks and everything.”

For a brief moment, Pidge worried that she had misjudged everything and Allura was going to politely shoo her away, but then the ghost of a grin on Allura’s face grew into a genuine smile. With a bit of a teasing lilt to her voice, she said, “You want to play Barbie again?” 

Pidge narrowed her eyes, warning, “No dresses this time.” 

“I wouldn’t dream of it,” Allura replied, eyes bright as she opened the door wider and ushered her in.

 

 

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> and that's a wrap! I hope this whole chapter of comfort was enough to make up for the gratuitous Pidge!whump that this fic turned into. -_-;; Please let me know what you liked or didn't like in the comments, because I definitely want to know all my fellow Pidge stans <3
> 
> Also: I want everyone to know that I wrote the beginning scene in this chapter before season 4 was released and I'm so proud that I called Pidge's room(s) being messy af XD what's the point in running away to join the space army if you still have to clean your room?
> 
> I hope everyone enjoyed my terrible Star Wars references, because I've been waiting 5 chapters to write them :D 
> 
> As always, I have SO MANY THANKS to give to MaliciousWays, who is the best beta reader ever & tells me when I've missed plot points or spelling errors or whatnot. This story would definitely be worse if not for her help. <3 <3 <3
> 
> Please feel free to come hang out on [Tumblr](http://panaili.tumblr.com) with me as well; I reblog a lot of Voltron and other random stuff. :D


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